I'm Not a Protagonist!
by Elithanathile
Summary: Kai Kado wasn't exactly a normal teenager. But when he's forced into a red-haired devil's peerage, he has to deal with sunburning easily, being too weak to survive, and his own friends being way too overprotective. "So what if I got shot, I'm fine now!" He also has a lying problem. And a Hero Complex. And his girlfriend totally isn't a yandere. NoSacredGear!OC Main, Single pairing.
1. Level 1 Pwned

"Why do I feel so full of energy?" I wondered out loud, heading home after splitting up with Motohama. I felt like I could run a marathon right now. Okay, maybe not, but at least a small foot race, which was a serious step up from my usual capabilities.

My hearing had also seemed to pick up, to the point where I could hear people in houses across the street arguing. I grinned perversely as I strained to see if I could hear any moans this late at night.

Besides that sudden perk, I could see as clearly as if it was day, and the strangest thing was that I swore that I could feel something watching me, the hairs at the back of my neck rising up.

I glanced back behind me just in case I was being followed, picking up my speed to walk faster as I started to grow nervous from the odd sensation. It wasn't too far to my house, just a couple more blocks, but I'd just reached a short length of the road that didn't have houses on either side, just a section of construction on the left side. The sudden absence of witnesses and the continued sense of wariness due to whatever was creeping after me. Like chocolate syrup down a female body. Another perverse grin, before I shook it off. No time for that right now, this could be serious.

And then I slapped myself. Literally. Idiot, there's always time for perversion! The stinging feeling on my cheek cleared my mind though, ironically doing the opposite of what it had been intended.

Suddenly, a street light flickered and went dead in a flash of sparks, fizzling out. I froze as the pattern continued, proceeding down the road and killing the lights one by one until all the street lamps on the entire street were inactive, casting a dark shadow that with my improved sight, actually seemed to make it all seem clearer. There was something else there, almost as if I could feel a tainted air from somewhere. I don't know where I got superpowers, but apparently I got them at the perfect time!

I prepared to bolt, situating my feet squarely on the pavement. I had no idea what was going on, but I was just a high school student! Whatever is happening, someone else can deal with it! This teenager is out, peace!

"Ara, ara, devil-kun. So quick to run? But we haven't gotten to _play_ yet."

A female voice filled my ears, coming from behind me. Hadn't I just checked there? Against my better judgment, (yes I have it, don't give me that look, inner self,) I slowly rotated my head to look behind me. I saw a beautiful woman standing there, with not a scrap of clothing upon her.

Long pink hair flowing over her shoulders, covering her bounteous bosom, as one long leg crossed in front of the other blocked my vision from her secret garden. Stupid leg, go somewhere else! This is important! Any thoughts of strange presences or malfunctioning lamp posts were swept away in a deluge of pink skin and pinker hair.

I refocused (to get a better image, obviously) to realize the image of beauty had been chuckling at my blatant ogling. "See something you like, devil-kun?"

I nodded my head unabashedly, my eyes still roving over her body and memorizing every detail. "Very much, yes." I managed to notice something slightly off this time and jerked my attention up to meet her eyes for a moment. "Why'd you call me a devil, miss...?"

She looked slightly surprised, before laughing openly. "You don't even know? Haha, this is indeed the best! A chance before he even knows! The Maou must be looking out for me tonight!"

I didn't understand a speck of what she said, but only nodded, eyes bouncing up and down as she laughed heavily, chest heaving. And _oh_ how it heaved.

"Hey, lady!" A strange voice spoke up from off to the side, and I turned to see a young man with black hair, dressed in a Kuoh school uniform identical to my own. I didn't recognize him, but there were plenty of people in the school I didn't know.

He continued, uncaring of interrupting my inner monologue. "I'm sorry if this sounds rude, but it's not really legal to expose yourself like that, and I kinda doubt that you want a rotten guy like this looking at your body." And then the new guy actually took off his uniform jacket and attempted to pass it to the woman! It was only then that I realized his head was turned, so he wasn't looking directly at her.

I knew his type! The accursed pretty boy! Only one of them would attempt to cover up such a precious sight! I dashed over and attempted to strangle the newcomer. "What are you doing, idiot! Are you a man or not! How dare you try to cover up something that magnificent. Well take your chivalry somewhere else, you're not wanted here!"

My perfectly reasonable response to the intruder was slightly diverted by the woman laughing again. "Hahahahaha!" This was a full-blown, head back, shoulders shaking, (which again did wonderful things to her chest) laugh. Somehow though, it didn't exactly fill me with warm fuzzy feelings. "So early after my escape, and I not only have a freshly made devil to consume, but a human as well has decided to offer himself to me!"

Okay, I get that I was pretty clueless, but I was pretty sure the word "consume" there didn't mean what I hoped it meant.

Her head came back down and pink hair drifted across her face, doing nothing to conceal a bloodthirsty grin which I'd seen once before. In a dream, a date; a death. "My my. Lucky me."

And then electricity burst from her body, flickering in vivid arcs of yellow and blue, blasting small divots from the pavement. They burned lines across the wooden fence separating us from the framework of a skyscraper in progress to the left. "All the better for me to eat you with, my dears." The being, no way it was human, proclaimed.

My grip slackened from the pretty boy's neck, hands falling to my sides. I was frozen in what I recognized as fear, the same feeling as the dream stealing over me, robbing me of any movement. Apparently, my fellow victim in whatever this was wasn't nearly as smart.

"If I offended you that much, lady, just say so." Out of all the things to do, out of all the possible dialogue options available, he chooses _that one_? Stated in a perfectly deadpan voice, still holding the jacket out for her to take, too.

I could almost hear the gears screeching to a halt in both mine and the monster's brains, heads both slowly turning with the appropriate creaking sounds to the member of the party that apparently wasn't affected by any of this.

Even as we watched in shocked silence, the lightning dimming, until it was barely visible above the lady's skin, he moved the outstretched arm back, and with very deliberate movements, still facing just off to the side of the woman, put his school jacket back on.

Once it was properly adjusted, he looked around himself as if just realizing where he was, and I barely noticed that his gaze _still_ seemed to deliberately go around the naked form in front of him. "Hmmm… this doesn't seem like a dream, so maybe it's real." After a moment he shrugged his shoulders. "Meh. I've had better."

At that, the electricity started back up again. The creature stating, very slowly, and very calmly, "I am the stray devil Zillamon, bearer of the mark of lightning, and slayer of a peerage of five of her fellow devils until I could make my escape. I am relatively sure, after all of that, I deserve a bit more than a "meh" from a puny _human_!" Her voice started to rise again at the end, but the end result was that it left me with more questions than I had to begin with. What the heck was a peerage, and a mark of lightning? "And so," she continued in a thoughtful tone, her voice once again calm, "I think I'm going to kill you in terrible ways now."

Shots fired! And how will the mysterious student respond? Hands placed into pockets, a bored look on his face and actually looking at her for the first time, the other student said in a carefree tone, "Meh."

Wow. Ouch. Sucks to be her right now.

At this point, my survival instincts finally took over, and I began to dash away from my suicidal schoolmate, abandoning him to the fate of his choosing. Whatever happened from now on was totally on him. I may or may not have died previously a virgin, and it sure as oppai wasn't going to happen again!

As I fled in (manly) fear, I thought I heard a "Run for your life, pervert!" from behind me, but I figured I was just flashbacking to other times I had been running from girls attacking me, and did exactly as I had in those circumstances, speeding away.

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

Yep. I was doomed. Try and walk home after a successful date and what do I find? A kitten perhaps? Or maybe some lost kid? Nope, instead it had to be some kind of exhibitionist pervert, molesting a student of my school in the middle of a short-range power outage. You know, as they do. And this still isn't the weirdest thing that I've that I've seen.

Except it turned out to be the student who was molesting her with his eyes. I didn't know his name, but I'd seen him chased by members of the kendo club many times, and knew he was a member of the perverted trio. If she'd been noticed by him, she was probably as good as assaulted already.

I knew better than to look myself, since if Kioko heard a _whisper_ of a _word_ of a _rumor_ of me staring at a girl with any less covering than the average mummy, then I was in for at least a week of disappointed looks.

Right. Focus. So I offered my jacket, in hopes that the unfortunate woman was simply lost, or mugged, instead of an actual pervert. I then managed to notice through my losing oxygen and general body functions, some seriously creepy laughter.

I definitely noticed the positively unnatural lightning that was messing up the surroundings. Apologize to the road workers for ruining their hard labor!

Ahem. Right, carrying on. I might not be an otaku, but I'd certainly read my share of books and novels and I knew a few things. First up, okay, there was some kind of secret world that now was being revealed to me in a dramatic fashion. That's exciting. Second, creepy laughter combined with magical powers of some kind was probably pretty bad news for a noob like me. Thirdly? I wasn't the hero. I didn't know who was, if at all, but I knew that I sure wasn't it. I was normal, if a bit sarcastic. (A bit? (Why thank you, inner voice, for proving my point. Now shut up, this is important.))

That led to fourth. I was probably doomed. Well, I certainly hoped I wasn't, as I still had a lot to live for, and was pretty sure that since there was magic in this world, if I died, Kioko would learn necromancy just to revive me, and then proceed to rant at my revived body for the next couple years about me abandoning her, and I did _not_ want to deal with that.

I felt myself going into what Kioko called "Analysis Mode," checking my options, escape routes, and surroundings. So, first up, find a way to survive. Okay, I have no magic, and I wouldn't put it past magicians or mutants or whatever this lady was to have some kind of physical boost as well, so straight up fighting was out. What's left? Outwitting them. Second objective? Try and make sure my schoolmate survives. He's a pervert, and in general, a horrible person, but he's still a human. Technically. And besides, if I do make some kind of sacrifice allowing him to get away, those tend to turn out alright in the end for the sacrafice-ee.

Next rule picked up from anime. Any enemy is easier to out-think when they aren't thinking. How to do that? Make them mad. What annoys early-game mooks like nothing else? Being ignored. And so phase one begins.

"If I offended you that much, lady, just say so." I casually pulled my jacket back on slowly, to hide my shivering arms, as I was pretty sure any jerky movements and/or falling down in a heap of man-flesh at this point would probably ruin the tone I was going for. Continuing, I looked around, nice and slow, to build up the tension. I then muttered, loud enough for everyone to hear. "Hmmm… this doesn't seem like a dream, so maybe it's real." A carefully placed pause. "Meh, I've had better" And a shrug of the shoulders for maximum effect!

Yeah, that stumped the enemy. Luckily, this did seem to be one of the types that got upset easily, probably super prideful. I carefully watched both of their reactions, while trying to act like I didn't care. Of course I care, I'm about to die here!

My opponent started up the tesla impersonation again, growling out in a voice that was considerably calmer than I'd hoped, "I am the stray devil Zillamon, bearer of the mark of lightning, and slayer of a peerage of five of her fellow devils until I could make my escape. I am pretty sure, after all of that, I deserve a bit more than a 'meh' from a puny _human_!"

Oh good, she _was_ upset. That meant it was working. I looked her straight in the eyes, tucked my hands in my pockets to seem bored, carefully curling my fingers around the small knife I kept there for opening letters or packages, and proceeded onto phase two. Another shrug. "Meh."

At that, both pairs of eyes opened wide, and my peer finally recovered his self-preservation instincts enough to start running. I had the enemy's attention now, and he could make his getaway safe. I barely noticed the tensing of muscles in the girl's legs as she crouched lower, and dodged immediately, throwing myself to the side and down. Another lesson from fiction. If someone else is faster or stronger than you, and you don't have some kind of power of your own, if you try to react to something like that after they move, it's too late. Dodge before they even attack, and you've got a chance.

It seemed to pay off in this case, as a vicious swipe with claws that I was reasonably sure hadn't been there a moment ago whistled through the air where my head would have been previously. Huh, I think she was trying to kill me. I had just enough time to yell out, "Run for your life, pervert!" Before performing a backwards somersault just in time to avoid a sparking leg impaling _into_ the asphalt.

I'd done taekwondo for a few years previously, for self-defense and to build muscles, but never really got past the basic stages so I was definitely out of my league against something like this. I pulled my hand out of my pocket, flipping open the blade of the pocketknife with one hand while getting my feet under me.

My opponent took a moment to extricate her foot from two feet deep into the road, while I desperately used the extra time to dash forward and attempt a slashing motion with my only weapon in hopes of dealing some kind of damage. The small blade _bounced_ off the skin of an arm brought up in a block, dealing no damage whatsoever and bringing back a small amount of voltage from the still luminescent body. And by small, I mean my right arm was numb. Not really a good position to be in.

Okay, re-evaluate. I grabbed the knife with my left hand as I thought. Hardened skin, taking no damage from a small weapon. Unknown, possibility of enhanced regeneration as well. Solution? Deal a large amount of damage at one time, enough to overcome natural protection, as well as any increased healing. Method? Brute force, crushing damage. Weapon? Hea-Oh look, I'm being kicked in the chest! Perfect. Also painful. Very.

I was pretty sure I heard a couple ribs crack, and I coughed up some blood as I crashed through the wooden fence surrounding the construction site. A white hot pain lanced through my chest, and I struggled to breath for a moment, but managed to regain my senses in time to roll to my right, avoiding a crackling fist which impacted the ground right next to my nose, right before another kick caught me in the ribs, sending me skipping along the ground like a rock on a pond.

Okay, so phase three may or may not be working. Slightly difficult to tell at the moment, what with more blood and internal damages and _ohmyisthatbone_. As the stars died off, I found myself at the edge of the construction zone of the skyscraper, angled metal spires clawing at the night sky. And the devil was stalking towards me, eyes glittering with madness, intent on my destruction. Or maybe that was just pure fury. Kinda hard to tell at this range. And with being barely able to breathe.

I struggled my way to my feet, leaning onto a nearby metal support in an effort to support myself on the rigid surface while attempting to keep from coughing up any more blood. I know I'd read books and all, but they'd done a pretty poor job describing how badly pain _hurt_! But I wasn't just going to sit here and let myself be killed. I wasn't the hero, but I'd rather commit suicide myself before being offed like cannon fodder! I was at least a supporting character, dang it!

And that moment was when the creature _surged,_ for lack of a better word, body rippling as barbs of lightning were injected into the ground, as though attempting to anchor or something, and- _IthinkIcanseemyskeletonwowthathurtsalot-_ proceeded to carry the charge through the ground and directly into the support I was leaning upon, sending me to the ground in convulsions, especially in my left hand that had been holding the pocketknife, burning the skin black as the electricity carried into the metal of the pocketknife, attempting to hold it like a battery. And my right arm had just started to feel things again, too.

I attempted to open my blurry eyes while twitching sporadically, muscle spasms jerking my body in different directions. They suddenly opened wide as a piercing hollow feeling entered into my chest, and I looked down to see a hand focused into a sharpened point freshly exiting out of my heart cavity through my back. That probably hurt a lot, but I seemed to be going into shock, and couldn't really notice at the moment.

Well, Kioko was gonna kill me, but hey, might as well finish the job that I started, right? I don't know how I managed it, with blood pouring out of the open wound in my chest, and still wracked with convulsions, sight going dim, but my left arm slowly came up, and made a weak throw with the knife. Not at the being standing behind me, but out in front, while my right arm grasped the impaling arm before it got too far away, keeping it in place with what I had heard termed as a "death grip."

Yeah, that was about where I died. Didn't even get to see how it ended, darn it all. I wanted my heroic moment!

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

Zillamon was just retracting her bloody hand from the _human_ that had dared to slight her, when both arms reached up in a last ditch effort, one making a sort of motion before flopping back down, the other grabbing onto her arm. The thing dared to touch her! It didn't deserve the blessing of the occurrence!

With a quick twist, the thing's wrist was broken and her arm free. Then she heard a rumbling sound and turned around to see metal pipes, the width of her entire body, rolling towards her. A flash of metal happened to catch her eye, a glimpse of a small knife and a cleanly severed rope enough to tell the tale of what happened.

With a growl, she simply leapt to the side, avoiding the pipes entirely as they crushed the measly human underneath them, destroying his body beyond all recognition. A sadistic grin split apart her face, viewing the desecration of the corpse.

She stayed a little too long, and was a little too focused, so she missed the sharpened piece of metal until it speared her through the leg, pinning her foot to the ground like a tent stake. She howled, twisting around in anger to discover who had attacked her. The metal pipes had apparently knocked into the structure, and the reverberations had loosened a pile of long pieces of metal just a little too close to the edge of the roof.

She attempted to flare her lightning mark, and while it did give her an increase in speed and strength, after her earlier expenditures, what she'd siphoned from the street lights earlier hadn't been much, and she was running dry after killing the human who had dared to mock her.

Unable to get free, she continued to struggle, unwilling to tear her own foot off quite yet, and so missed the next weapon falling from the sky that ran a long scratch into her side. She had only avoided it piercing her right lung by throwing her pinned body to the side at the last moment.

Long poles of metal were beginning to spear the ground all around, only a few actually nearing her, a couple even spearing the dead body of the boy, damaging it even more, although Zillamon was too distracted to notice and derive pleasure from it.

Looking up at the sky in an attempt to see where the next attack was coming from, the stray devil only had enough time to scream before the thick metal beam impaled her through the mouth, nearly splitting her head in half, and dimming the light in her eyes forever.

A small brass bead seemed to work it's way free from her forehead and fell onto the ground, before dissolving into the earth.

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

"Quick, this way!" Issei ran in front of the gathered members of the Occult Research Club, showing them the way to where he had abandoned his schoolmate. "I don't know where you guys came from, but you gotta help him!"

A tall woman with crimson red hair nodded to the other boy of the party. "Yuuto, go ahead and scout it out. Step in if the victim's still alive."

With a curt nod, the blonde haired boy raced ahead with incredible speed, appearing as a blur to Issei's eyes. "Woah! How'd he do that!" And then a muttering of "Damned pretty boy."

When the group reached the street where the short battle had taken place a short time later, they found burnt trails in the asphalt, a broken fence, and a shocked knight standing just inside the construction site.

As they reached him, they saw what had him so surprised. There, almost still standing, was a beautiful nude woman, but the beauty was ruined by the appearance of clawed hands, and the fact that the body was impaled by a steel beam that ran through the body, destroying the corpse.

Issei stared for a moment, before stumbling over to the side to empty his stomach of it's contents, unable to connect the bloody mass of bone and muscles in front of him with the perfect specimen of the female body he had been admiring not five minutes before.

Around the body in a large area, multiple other poles were stabbed into the ground, or lay on their sides, making it look like a graveyard, with each tomb marked with a spire of steel. "What could have done this," the president of the club breathed.

Then she snapped back, and began to issue orders. "Akeno, figure out if that's the stray devil or not. Yuuto, check to see if there's anyone else in the area we need to watch out for. Koneko, find our missing schoolmate."

She received two nods in reply, with the last member, a short white-haired girl, simply raising her hand and pointing to a large pile of scrambled metal pipes piled up in an unorganized mess. "No need." she said shortly, before wandering off to go investigate.

Issei had recovered somewhat and staggered up to her, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. "Gremory-san," he looked up with wide shaky eyes. "What in the world is going on?"

In the next few minutes, she explained the basics. That it wasn't a dream, he'd really died, she'd brought him back to life, he was attacked by a stray monster, and that he needed to be careful. She was careful to avoid mentioning that they were devils themselves, waiting for a dramatic moment to do that, or that the one that had attacked him was a devil as well, not wanting to dissuade him from his new life.

During that period her knight had returned, reporting that there was nobody else in the immediate area, but it seemed to be due to luck instead of a spell. Akeno followed shortly afterwards with the information that the corpse was Zillamon, a stray devil who they'd been warned about was in the area, but hadn't expected to be here so soon. The last member, Koneko, was standing by the large pile of pipes, covering her nose.

"And that's it for the short version," Rias wrapped up. "Any questions?"

Issei raised his hand, as though he was in school. "Yeah, I didn't understand any of that." Cue sweatdrop by everyone present. "Where's the other guy, though? I'm pretty sure he saved my life by being a massive idiot, and I can't just let that kind of thing go, you know?"

Rias turned questioningly to Koneko, who pointed at the pile of pipes. "Blood."

In a gasp, Issei ran off to the pile and began attempting to shift the massive pieces of metal. Surprisingly, he was actually able to free enough that he could peer down towards the bottom. He turned to the side and began dry heaving again.

The members of the club peered down as well. "Oh my." "Wow. Didn't know that was possible." "Hmmm… His face isn't bad..." "…Gross."

Issei had calmed down somewhat, and turned to the group. "Can you guys do anything? What with your magical powers or whatever? I seriously owe the guy, and don't want to leave him like… _that_."

The red-haired girl tapped a finger on her chin, looking thoughtful. "Well, I suppose I still have one pawn left, and he did save my cute servant..."

"Your cute _what_?"

She snapped her fingers. "I suppose I might as well, as a way of thanking him." She quickly rummaged in a pocket of her uniform before producing a single red pawn.

Akeno was still looking into the small hole. "I'm not quite sure how this is going to work..."

Rias shrugged. "Just pick the largest piece, I guess, and I'll try putting it in there."


	2. Ah, so it's Nepotism

Kado woke up, begrudgingly opening his eyelids to see a strange ceiling, and a warmth pressed next to him on either side. He mentally shrugged and closed them again, snuggling back into the warmth. He'd just died; he deserved some rest.

A few minutes later, he opened his eyes once more, slightly more aware this time, and looked to the left, to see a sheet of black hair obscuring his vision. He turned to the right, and was faced with a sight much similar to the first, except the hair was a bright red.

A few seconds passed before the realization of just what that much hair so close meant for his future. A dramatic widening of the eyes, pupils shrinking to tiny dots. "Oh no."

In a flurry of movement, he was out of the bed, ripping his arms free of two very unclothed females, panicking at his lack of pants, dashing out of the door to the room to find some kind of clothing.

"Wha? Where you goinn..." a fuzzy voice spoke up from the abandoned bed.

"Doomed, we're all doomed," Kado shouted back in response. His only hope was to find some kind of clothing and make for the border as soon as possible!

Ripping open drawers in an abandoned bedroom, he managed to find a spare set of the male school uniform, and put it on a fast as he could, before dashing back out, trying to find an exit.

He was halted by a small girl, no higher than his chest, grabbing onto his arm, somehow stopping him from going any further.

"Pervert." The young girl proclaimed, a vivid red blush on the still emotionless face.

Kado bowed deeply, attempting to show his sincerity, while wriggling his arm to attempt escaping the grip that seemed far too strong for a girl her size. "I do offer my deepest apologies, but I am in a bit of a hurry, and I suggest you let go of me before your arm is removed from the rest of you."

The small head turned up to him, tilting slightly to the right. "You?" Although there was no tone or inflection in the word, he could swear he could _feel_ the condescension dripping from it.

He shook his head rapidly. "No, someone much worse."

She didn't remove her grip on his arm, so instead he kept on moving, simply dragging the short girl with him. After navigating through several rooms and hallways that all seemed to look the same, Kado found himself in a large room with a table, several couches, a shower, and the occasional skull.

In the room was two beautiful women, Rias Gremory and Akeno Himejima, both members of the Occult Research Club, telling him where he was at the moment. Neither of them had decided to put clothes on yet, and he carefully averted his eyes before he could see anything, instead checking outside the window to see how high up they were, Koneko Toujou, the small girl, still holding onto his arm.

"Why are you in such a hurry so early," the black haired one said in a sultry tone, bending over and licking her lips. "We could go back for some more… _fun_."

Kado was next to her in a flash, vaulting over the couch and surprising everyone in the room. His hand was over her mouth, keeping her from pronouncing any further words of doom and looking directly into her eyes. "Shhhshhhshhh. If she hears what you just said, she'll _kill_ you. And me."

Then he was opening the door out of the room as if checking for eavesdroppers, before closing it and pressing his back to it. On the other side of the room, Koneko was staring at her hand, opening and closing it slowly, wondering how he'd gotten out of her grip.

"What are you so worried about?" the president of the club questioned. "If it's about your clothes, those are ruined. But we _were_ able to salvage your phone." She said that last part a bit proudly, holding up the mentioned item from wherever she'd gotten it from.

Kado froze and turned to her in unrestrained horror. "You have doomed us all," he spoke, in a dead tone of voice, causing all three present to look uncomfortably between each other.

Then he seemed to have gathered himself, stood with his feet together and hands at his sides, and performed a deep bow. "My name is Kai Kado. Thank you for giving me my life back." He straightened back up, still holding the stiff position and maintaining eye contact. "I will see you in the afterlife."

Before anyone could react to that strange statement, he turned and opened the door to the hallway just as a girl came flying through it with a drop kick. The girl had long blonde hair tied up in a blue ribbon, a female Kuoh school uniform, and green eyes. All accompanied by the fiercest look anyone there had ever seen.

The girl landed, spinning into a combat stance. "Okay, which one of you hussies touched my man!" Unsure of how to react to that entrance, nobody could do anything in the time it took for Kado to mouth 'sorry' towards them. Then he threw himself at the girl's feet. "It was them! They assaulted me while I was dead!" Pointing directly at the two still unclothed girls.

Suddenly, the already furious visage of the girl morphed into an unrestrained demonic expression and began to leak bloodlust like one of the four satans, the air rippling behind her, before forming into a hannya mask with bleeding eyes. All this combined was enough to make all the girls present ready to flee for their lives, but were frozen in fear.

The feeling was reinforced as the intruder stepped forward towards the accused, cracking her knuckles. " **Any last words before I remove your souls?** " rumbled the demon before them.

The red and black haired girls looked helplessly towards the window where Koneko had stood, only to see shards of glass, a broken window, and a hastily scrawled sign reading, "You're on your own," signed with a paw-print.

Looking back towards the immediate threat, Rias attempted to hold her hands up in a pacifying motion, but they moved farther up in a sign of surrender without her control. "Any chance we can talk this out?"

The fearsome image seemed to pause for a moment.

" **No.** "

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

Thanks to their devil constitution and Kado's attempts to calm down his furious girlfriend, the two devils managed to survive, and even came out of it with all their limbs intact.

They sat across from the girl seated possessively upon her boyfriend's lap, still glaring at the two, now dressed, devils.

Kado attempted to calm the situation down slightly by making introductions. "People-who-I-hadn't-met-before-today, meet my girlfriend, Horikawa Kioko." His voice turned sappy upon introducing her, obviously filled with affection. "Kioko, meet Rias Gremory and Akeno Himejima. They brought me back from being dead, so I would kinda appreciate it if you didn't kill them?"

His girlfriend sniffed and turned her head away. "Don't worry, I was holding back. If I was in jail, I'd have a much harder time getting my Cuddles." The two girls gulped, thinking that if it was true she was holding back, that they never wanted to face her when she was serious. They might be some of the most promising devils of their generation, but unable to use their powers without killing her, the human had the clear advantage.

Then the tone turned more serious as Kioko turned upwards to face her boyfriend. "You were really dead?" her seat nodded, looking proud. "And came back to life?" Another proud nod, accompanied by an outstretched hand. Kioko sighed resignedly, pulling out a few bills and slapping them into his outstretched hand. "Fine."

The two devils looked on confusedly. "Erm, what was that?" Akeno dared to ask. Kioko looked at her with grumpy expression, still very unhappy about the situation she had first encountered them in. "He bet me he'd find evidence of a hidden world before we got out of high school."

The two turned to look at Kado's smug face, carefully counting the bills before pocketing them. "Yeep," he said, popping the 'p.'

The two great ladies looked at each other, before looking back at him. ""Chuuni.""

Kado slammed his hands down on his knees, carefully avoiding hitting his girlfriend. "I am not chuuni!" He folded his arms and looked away, miffed. "I just had high hopes."

Rias decided to get to something slightly more important. "I do feel it important to note that we did not actually… assault, your boyfriend," she said, directed at Kioko. "He was badly injured after I revived him, and our healing spell works best with direct skin contact." Akeno got up from the couch, intending to make some tea, but a glare from the victor of their earlier exchange had her quickly sitting back down.

Kioko let out a relaxed sigh as if a great burden had been lifted from her shoulders. Kado raised his hand in an expression of helplessness. "Hey, I woke up naked, with two naked girls on either side of me, and no recollection of the past few hours. Can you really blame me for assuming something like that had happened?"

A shake of the head, which was now resting against his clothed chest. "Nope, I would have assumed the same thing. I'm just glad your virginity is still safe." Her voice dipped slightly into the demonic tones from earlier. "And still _mine_." Everyone else in the room gulped.

The door to the room opened, and Kiba Yuuto entered. "Hey guys, has he woken..." upon seeing two people he didn't know seated on a couch, facing his club president and vice-president, who looked as though they were regretting their life choices, he trailed off. "…Maybe I'll wait outside."

The door closed with a click, and Kioko returned her attention to the two facing her. "Alright, so you're probably not exactly human as we see it. So what are you?"

Unwilling to argue since she was already aware of Kado's death, the devils extended their wings. Rias took the initiative to say, "We're devils, as is your boyfriend now." As if on command, wings sprang out from Kado's back, pushing him and Kioko off the couch, having been unprepared for the sudden eruption of new limbs.

With a few glances between the wings and the president, the reborn devil asked, "You did that?" A nod in response. "You can activate it when you want?" Another nod, albeit more confused. "So you have some kind of power over me?" A very careful nod, definitely not liking where this was going, accompanied by a fearful glance at the girlfriend, now situated back in his lap.

With a slight mental effort, Kado caused the wings to retract, causing a slight burning sensation in his back, as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the money he had just placed into it, dangling it with it a sigh in front of the blonde haired girl until she took the proffered money with a self-satisfied grin.

Kioko noticed the look the other two devils were giving her and answered the unspoken question. "I bet him that he'd end up in some kind of servitude before the end of high school."

"I thought that was a safe bet!" Kado complained. "I was pretty sure the odds of that were pretty low, all things considered! How did you know something like this would happen?"

Kioko smirked, settling herself more comfortably in his lap. "Woman's intuition, dear."

"Well then, how'd you get-" "What was that?" "Nothing, dear."

Refocusing on the girls in front of him, who were trying to hold in their laughter, he returned to the previous conversation. "So, I'm guessing I can't simply be released from your service?"

A very nervous Rias shook her head, while eying Kioko carefully. "For life?" Akeno was beginning to edge away from her soon to be ex-president. Kado just sighed, slumping back down. "Alright then, I suppose. What do you need me to do?"

Both great ladies blinked, not expecting that. "What do you mean?" Rias asked carefully, unsure if he was serious.

Kado elaborated somewhat. "Well, I'm in your service now, which means I actually have to do something. Handing out things like lives would be a pretty big deal, so it's gotta have some kind of price."

Rias fidgeted, slightly surprised he'd reached that conclusion on his own. But then she straightened, puffing out her chest further. This was her time to shine, to sway others to the devil lifestyle! "As a member of my peerage, you can form contracts with humans to gain more power-"

"Don't care."

And she was shot down in the middle of her statement! A slightly flabbergasted Rias spoke up, "B-But why? Why wouldn't you?"

Kado shrugged, pulling Kioko slightly closer to himself. "I've got my family, my girlfriend, and my education. I don't really need anything besides that. So, thanks but no thanks. No power for me."

Akeno picked up from her king, who was still processing the firm denial of offered power. "There's also the matter of stray devils-"

And she was again interrupted. "Those being the things from last night?"

Akeno was beginning to grow slightly annoyed now. "Yes," she remarked in a clipped tone.

"How do you become a stray devil?"

Well, she certainly didn't expect that. Rias took up the conversation again, unwilling to disclose information like that during this dangerous time. "The underworld gives out a warning, and then they are hunted down, before they hurt people-"

"You become one from leaving a servitude, don't you."

Rias tsked, but didn't say anything, tightening her expression.

"Juts perfect," he said with a sigh, apparently resigned to the fact.

Rias coughed, attempting to regain control of the conversation. "Well, the official word for it is 'peerage' not servitude, but that's really pretty rare..."

She was met by blank stares. "Do you usually tell people that they will be hunted down and murdered if they try to leave _before_ you recruit them, or just never."

"It never really came up?" Rias said weakly.

"And are we the ones to hunt them down?"

"...maybe?"

"And what do I get out of this?"

Rias sat up straight again, back in salesperson mode. "Well, first and foremost, you retained your _life_ , as well as being granted an enhanced lifespan, and if you gain enough power, eventually becoming a high-class devil, upon which you will be granted your own peerage."

Kado cocked an eyebrow, not exactly happy with the terms. "So I'm in indentured servitude with a stranger, am asked to run errands for more strangers, fight twisted monsters at great risk to myself, live longer than my friends and loved ones, and maybe, in a couple hundred years, get my own slaves, which I care nothing about? And unless years of popular culture are wrong, I take damage from holy artifacts and sunlight, right?"

"...Did I forget to mention the night vision?"

"Yes. You did."

Kado shook his head, looking at Kioko. "Can we have a moment to discuss this? This seems like a pretty big change to make in the spur of a moment."

Akeno attempted to speak up at that moment. "Actually, since you were already revived, you don't really..." and then trailed off at the look she was given by both of the people seated on the other couch. "Yes. Sure. Go right ahead."

Kioko got off of Kado's lap and took his hand, leading him out of the room and into the adjacent one, a simpler room with a small spare bed and shelves lining the room. Once the door was shut, Kioko spun and leaped at Kado, locking him in a kiss, desperate for proof that he was there, still alive and unhurt.

Once she was properly… reaffirmed, she collapsed against him, not resisting as he led her to the bedside where they both sat down, Kioko curling up against him again as sobs began to shake her body. "I was in bed, and suddenly, you were just..." she hiccuped a bit. "...gone! I couldn't feel you! And I was so worried, and I was already on my way to come see you, even if you _were_..." she couldn't manage to say the word.

"But then you came back, but _different_ , and I just _knew_ what had happened, and, and-" She broke down into tears again, Kado rubbing her back, doing what he could to calm his girlfriend down. "And I just wanted to kill them for doing that to you!" She looked up at him with teary eyes. "You're never going to have a normal life _again_ , and you don't deserve it, and then I had to sit there while they didn't tell you how much danger you'll be in! If I could become a devil, I would, but I can't!"

Suddenly she rose up and hugged him tight enough to make his newly healed ribs creak a little. "I don't want you to be hurt," she mumbled into his borrowed uniform. "I don't know what I'd do if you died again."

Kado finally spoke up, trying to comfort her. "I know, and I'm sorry. But I'm back now, and while it's not perfect, at least I'm here, and we can spend the next few years together, at the minimum." He softly kissed her forehead. "Don't worry. I'll be okay, and in a few years, you can probably find something that will either release me from this, or some way to extend your own life."

Neither one mentioned the most likely option. They would be together, one way or another. That was something they had both promised when they started this.

They spent the next few minutes simply embracing, relishing in the fact that one of them wasn't dead, until the tears stopped. Kioko sat back up, and with a few quick rubs of her sleeve, any signs of tears or distress were gone.

She let out a deep breath. "Alright. No use postponing it any more. You're stuck like this for now, and we'll just have to accept that." She gave him a stern look, making sure he was paying close attention. "Don't fight unless you're sure you can win. Survive, that's all you need to do."

Kado stared into her eyes for a moment, before nodding, showing his promise and determination through the gaze. "I promise, darling. My first priority will always be returning to you." Then he leaned in for another kiss, this one chaste, and filled with his promise.

After they separated, he put his arms under Kioko's back and knees standing up in a princess carry. He looked down at her. "Well, I couldn't do that before, so I guess that's one perk." She giggled as he gently set her down on her feet, before heading back into the main area.

The blonde boy from earlier had returned, and stood in a corner of the room, watching them as they came in.

After sitting down on the couch, Kado took a deep breath. "After much consideration," he glanced at Kioko briefly before looking back towards the devils opposite, waiting for his response. "I have decided to consent to being part of your peerage. Please treat me well." He bowed slightly while still sitting.

In the corner, Kiba blinked, before opening his mouth. "That's… not really how it works." He was ignored by the remainder of the occupants, leaving him to his confusion.

Rias nodded, before stating, "Then I, Rias Gremory, will accept you into my peerage." Then she relaxed slightly, smiling. "And don't worry, it'll turn out fine." Akeno gave a short bow as well, and looked as if she was going to say something, but a quick look at Kioko, seated next to her boyfriend, silenced whatever comment she was going to make.

Once the pleasantries were complete, the blonde girl stood and grabbed her boyfriend's hand, beginning to lead him out of the room. "Well, this has been just _lovely_ , but I think we'll take our leave now. I suppose we'll see you in school then. Goodbye." And the door closed behind them. The remaining people in the room let out a silent sigh of relief. "One down, one to go," was the general thought process.

Then the door opened again, and Kioko poked her head back in. "Oh, and before I forget," the mask formed again. " **Don't you dare touch my man.** " And dissipated. "Okay? Okay. Thanks!" And the door closed once more.

As they left the old schoolhouse, Kado checked the time on his phone. "Okay, it's just before eight now, so I guess that didn't take too long. We still have time to get to our next class." Then before heading off, he gave his girlfriend a quick peck on the cheek. "See you at lunch!"

As he left the shade of the building, Kado realized another negative to being a devil. You get weak in sunlight. Preceding his death and rebirth, he'd always had poor eyes and a bad constitution, so bright light, including the sun, blinded him slightly and he got sunburned easily. That stacked with being a devil seemed to add up to pain exploding in his eyeballs.

With a yelp, Kado collapsed onto the lawn just outside the old building, closing his eyes and frantically crawling back to the sheltering shade of the old building. He steadfastly ignored his giggling girlfriend, instead trying to find a way to make it to the school proper without dying from being cooked alive in his own skin.

After a moment of contemplation, he went back inside, before emerging with a molding umbrella that had been propped in a rack for canes. He tested it out, and it seemed to work well enough, even if it did have a few holes. Advancing towards his girlfriend, who had managed to limit her chuckles, he offered her his arm.

"Would you care to share an umbrella, Madam?"

With a regal air, Kioko accepted, hooking her arm into his, and they made their way into the relative safety of the school proper.

As they headed into the school itself, he passed a boy with messy brown hair, being chased by girls. The boy, Issei, noticed black hair out of the corner of his vision, before doing a double take, seeing his schoolmate alive once more.

He'd seen him revived the night before, but it was an entirely different thing seeing him standing alive and happy, walking under an umbrella of all things into the hallway, a... pretty girl on his arm?

Issei screeched to a stop for a moment, before yelling out, "Darn handsome!" and retreating again, the girls hot on his heels.

With an uncaring shrug, Kado carried on, leaving behind his perverted peerage member to his well-deserved beating.

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

After school, Kado was sitting next to Kioko in her classroom, discussing the new movie that had come out when the door slid open to reveal a short girl with white hair. She looked into the room and, seeing Kado, entered it. She reached forward a hand to take hold of his arm but then hesitated, looking to Kioko who's smile just a bit too large, and changed her mind. "Buchou wants you," she said, and left the room, maybe walking just slightly faster than usual.

With a nod to each other, the couple packed up their things quickly before following Koneko through the hallways and back out to the clubhouse. Luckily, the sun was behind a thick cloud at the moment, so Kado was able to make his way across the open lawn without too much difficulty.

Inside, they were escorted into the same main room they had been early, where they found Akeno serving tea to Rias, Issei, and Kiba. Koneko herself immediately sat down and produced a small packet of sweets from beneath the table, before she began to eat them rapidly.

Rias, upon noticing their arrival, stood up, and said, dramatically "Welcome, to those that are new, to the Occult Research Club." She gestured at the staple members of her peerage, one by one. "For those of you who do not know, this is Himejima Akeno," Akeno smiled just a bit too widely, and cocked her head to the side cutely. "Kiba Yuuto," Kiba smiled and nodded his head politely. "And Toujou Koneko." Koneko ignored her and kept eating pocky.

After a slightly awkward pause, Issei raised his hand and asked, "Not to seem rude or anything, but why am I here?"

Akeno put on a fake pout and asked, "Ara? Our cute Kohai doesn't want to be here with us?" Leaning forward and folding her hands below her chest, accentuating something.

Rias was about to answer when Kado's hand went up as well. "Actually, I don't know why I'm here either."

Kioko quickly followed suit by declaring, "I just followed my boyfriend," before beginning to snuggle into Kado's arm, much to Issei's background tears.

Rias resisted the urge to grin. This was her favorite part. "Issei-kun, you are here because, like us, you are..." she paused for dramatic effect, "a devil!"

As she said the word, Each of her peerage members wings emerged, besides the two new ones, Issei because she didn't want to trigger that just yet and lead him down the same road that Kado had thought of earlier, and Kado, who had figured out how to hold them in. She inwardly pouted.

After a moment of slight awkwardness, Issei said, "Yeah, but I already knew that. Did you want something else?

Rias' jaw dropped, and her wingtips visibly sagged as she deflated slightly. "You... do? But how?"

Issei nodded and jerked a thumb over towards Kado and Kioko, who were both standing with a smug smile on his face. "He told me over lunch break. Explained the whole thing to me."

Teeth gritted, Rias spoke. "How... commendable." She paused to re-center herself, before remembering her main tactic to get Issei on her side. "Ah, but, did he explain about how if you gain enough power, you can gain your own peerage of servants?"

Kado's face dipped, and he lost his smug expression, knowing what was coming. Issei stared up with unhidden hope in his teary eyes. "Like... a harem?"

Rias nodded, resisting the urge to smirk. Yes, they were back on track. Two news pawns for her peerage, and now maybe she had some hope. "Yes. _Exactly_ like that."

For a moment, Issei didn't move a muscle. Then a red aura exploded out from him and began to flicker about him like flames. "UUUUUUUUUUOOOOOOOOOHHH! My dream is finally coming true! I'll do whatever I can to reach that utopia! Give me some contracts, and I'll go right now!"

Kiba chuckled nervously, edging away from his fellow peerage member slightly. Koneko glared openly at the perversion, and Akeno just giggled. Then she leaned over to her king and whispered, "Did he just manifest a battle aura of demonic power through pure perversion?"

Rias nodded, her smile not wavering a smidgen. "Yes. Yes he did. He's perfect."

She then noticed the hand still raised in the corner and looked to see Kado still holding up his arm. "So, that explains why you brought him, but why am I here?"

Rias blinked for a moment. "Well, seeing as you're part of the club, I figured that you should be here to welcome your new fellow member."

The boy shrugged. "Well, actually, I'm not."

"Huh? You're not what?"

"I'm not a member of the club."

Rias was slightly befuddled now. "But you're a devil now, part of my peerage! You agreed to it and everything!"

Kado nodded and said, "Yes, but I haven't ever signed anything to join the club. Being part of your peerage and being part of the club are two different things."

 _Resist the facepalm. Resist the facepalm._ Rias did her best to explain. "Well, if you're part of the club, then you can stay here after school, and it gives you an excuse to leave classes or come her for activities over the weekends."

Now Kioko spoke up, going on the attack instead of her boyfriend. "So they can just leave in the middle of classes without any consequences? Isn't that sabotaging their education? And what kind of emergencies in 'researching the occult,' are good enough to appease the teachers?"

Kado leaned over to her and mentioned in a faux-whisper, "Don't forget, they're devils. They probably bribed the faculty so they don't say anything."

 _Resist the strangle. Resist the strangle._ "Actually," Rias said, with a twitching eyebrow, "I did _not_ bribe the faculty. I'll have you know I'm friends with the student council president, and I wouldn't do such a thing anyway."

Kioko nodded sagely. "Ah. So it's nepotism."

By now Issei had calmed down somewhat, and the remainder of the room was watching the conversation closely, Akeno snickering slightly at seeing her king so easily riled up.

"It is not-!" Rias took a few deep breaths. After a moment, she spoke again, in a calm, even tone. "Alright. You're not a member of the club then. Which means that when you're summoned, you'll just have to think of an excuse to get out of classes on your own."

Kado shrugged. "Or I could just not come. What if I decide that I prefer my future career and current education to getting beat up and possibly killed again by another monster."

Rias spoke through gritted teeth, starting to seriously regretting reviving the boy. "Yes. I suppose you could do that instead. Couldn't you."

His eyes began to _sparkle_ with happiness, apparently fueled by his devil power. "I can? Oh joy, Gremory-san! You're the best master an enslaved devil could ask for!" He turned to his girlfriend. "Did you hear that!" "I did!" "I don't have to be maimed or killed!"

And then they hugged, starry eyes gazing up in awe at the ceiling.

...

...

Rias turned to Akeno. "I'm going to go lie down for a bit. I think I have a headache. Would you mind taking over?"

"Not at all. I'd be happy to." Her queen said, barely able to keep her mirth under control.

"Good. I think I may need to destroy a few things. Come get me in half an hour." Then she stalked out of the room, intent on finding something very breakable and very replaceable.

Once the door had slammed behind her, the couple who had triggered her minor breakdown collapsed into laughter, continuing the hug only to support each other so they didn't slump to the floor.

"I take it you still have some leftover annoyance about being revived," Akeno commented dryly.

Kado nodded profusely.

"Alright then. I guess I'll finish getting Issei-kun all ready, and you guys don't really have a reason to be here, so... I guess you can leave?"

Kado stood up, before holding out his hand to Kioko, allowing her to grab onto it and get pulled up. "Yeah, I guess we'll go then. Good luck with the other new guy!"

As they left, Akeno turned to Issei, who was only a few inches away from her and looking at her with sparkling eyes, still overjoyed at the prospect of gaining a harem.

She sweatdropped. _I think I got stuck with the worse end of the deal_.


	3. Super-Kado to the Rescue!

AN: First order of business.

I AM SO SORRY.

There's really nothing I can offer except for excuses, but this was a project that didn't deserve to be put off for so long. I ended up getting wrapped up in my other project (before I procrastinated on it too) but part of that is because I wasn't exactly with my original premise on this story. The idea of the characters reacting to the original plot was an interesting idea and I would still love to see someone do it, but I realized that I wasn't happy with just having the characters there to react and not much else. I wanted to make characters who seemed realistic and actually changed the world. I went even farther away from that in chapter two which was mostly composed of humor with mild amounts of plot development, which made it difficult for me to write chapter three.

And so it sat and stagnated for months, as I would occasionally come back, try to write a few lines, and then give up. So I decided to change my strategy. _Yes_ , these characters will change things. You can now officially consider this as an AU story since things _will_ be different. Characters will act and react differently, and I even have an idea for an original arc somewhere down the road. I realized there was so much I could do with the characters and setting that I was just wasting with my original idea.

So this is a WARNING. From this chapter on, things are going to _change_. Things are going to be less humorous and hopefully better written. Also I hope and plan to be able to update more regularly, on the lines of once a week or so. I haven't abandoned this project or my other one. Thank you for your patience and I hope it was worth a fraction of the far-too-long wait.

I edited the previous chapters and probably the biggest thing will be that I realized that having characters that I saw in my mind as being Japanese having western names like Lysanndra and Stanley was _stupid_ so I changed that. Stanley Linels has been changed to Kai Kado, family name then given. Lyssandra-forgot-what-the-last-name-was has been changed to Horikawa Kioko, family name then given.

Also I accidentally deleted the ANs on the first two chapters so I have no clue what I said in those.

P.S. Surprise Omake at the end of this chapter!

* * *

Waking up the next morning was an interesting experience. My bedroom is on the second floor of our home, the first floor being a large area reserved for the antique store that my family runs. My room is relatively small, made smaller by the large bookcases that line the walls that are overflowing with various books and manga. On the side of the room farthest away from the door there's my bed, and directly above it is a large window facing the east.

Usually this window would be covered by curtains, but they had been taken to be washed the previous day, and hadn't been returned in the middle of the night, surprise of surprises. So in the morning, as the sun breaks over the horizon and begins to slowly illuminate the quiet town, it would shine directly down onto me. Normally this was irritating but endurable.

Since I had been recently revived as a devil though, some small changes were inevitable in my morning schedule. I would like to say that I handled such changes with grace and aplomb, taking them in my stride and adapting to the circumstances.

My bedroom door burst open and my twin sisters ran in as if they were prepared to be fighting a burglar, holding stances that looked vaguely like martial arts. Until they spied my form, at least.

"Are you okay?" "What happened?" My sisters both have short black hair and blue eyes, just like dad, and tended to be somewhat protective of me. Whether due to my slight condition or because they were literally better at everything than me, I'm not sure. Seriously though. Cooking, sports, cleaning, schoolwork, they just blow me out of the water like a dolphin coming up for air.

I peeked my head out from the tight ball of covers I had pulled the blankets into as I woke up. "Nothing happened, the sun's just really bright today."

They glanced at me, postures relaxing and eyes becoming less excited. "We heard you screaming-" "-like a girl-" "-with her hair on fire." "And you're on the floor next to your bed." "You were writhing in pain when we came in." "And you're bleeding from your eyes."

Really? That was actually kinda cool if I say so myself. As touched as I was that they had come in here ready to fight somebody to protect me, I had to show my little sisters my cool side. I propped myself up against the bed as best I could and ran my fingers through my hair, letting a few strands fall down directly in front of my left eye. "Don't worry, I'm alright now. I'd never do anything to make you cry."

As one of the twins, Hitomi I guessed, left to get some gauze for my eyes, I tried to pretend that her shoulders were shaking from restraining her reaction to my coolness, and not laughter. That left the one helping untangle me from my blankets as Hiromi. Of course I was probably wrong, but it'd probably be the same no matter which one I guessed. It should be a fifty-fifty chance, statistically speaking, but instead it's closer to a eighty-twenty chance. With the eighty percent being wrong, and the twenty percent being that you were one of the girls in question.

Not only were they identical twins, they had decided at a young age to play it up even further, trading off speaking sentences and wearing identical outfits. Probably the only person who would be able to tell which one was which would be Kioko. I really needed to introduce them at some point, just to see them freak out at somebody getting it right.

"Honestly, I don't know why we're surprised," Hiromi(?) sighed, pulling the thick blanket off of me and beginning to put it back on the bed. "We really should be used to these things by now."

Ignoring her use of 'we' when it was just her there, I tried to get up and help. It just didn't feel right sitting on the floor while my little sister took care of something like that. "Here, let me help, you don't need to do that."

I was quickly halted by a glare and a single sentence. "You'll bleed onto the blankets."

And so I simply sat dejected in the corner of the room while my little sister tidied up after me until Hitomi(?) came with gauze and a washcloth. One quick morning ritual later, I was sitting down with my family at the breakfast table set up in the living room.

We were all eating crunchy oatmeal with black flecks in it, slightly fixed smiles on our faces. No matter how many times she tried, mom could never get the cooking time right, either burning meals or leaving them slightly under-cooked. No matter what we tried it never seemed to work so we eventually just threw up our arms, declared it a curse, and left it at that.

Mom though, seemed to believe that cooking breakfast for the family was a 'Mother's Duty' as she called it, and refused to let anyone else cook breakfast. Of course we weren't allowed to complain about the quality, so breakfast tended to be a rather quiet affair.

This time, dad spoke up partway through, talking between bites of his food. "So, sounded like something crazy happened this morning. Anything we need to know about?" Dad was a quiet man who had a hands-off parenting style, hair going prematurely gray, and fake glasses that he wore to seem more knowledgeable to the customers. Also he'd confided in me once that mom found his glasses 'sexy.'

I tried very hard each day to forget that conversation had ever happened.

He was usually willing to let me come to him about any events or concerns that I had. That he'd spoken up about it meant that he was dying with curiosity on the inside. Resisting the urge to sink through my seat and into my shadow, I tried to act calm as I said "Nothing much, I just-"

And was almost immediately interrupted by my sisters, who had apparently just been waiting for me to start talking about it so that they could take over. "He was bleeding from his eyes!" "And had fallen off the bed. There's a bump on his head." "He tried to act cool, but-" "-just ended up looking like a horror movie." "We thought he'd seen a ghost" "Or had someone in his room." They sadly shook their heads at the last one, as if mourning something. "We should have known better," whichever one who hadn't last spoken said.

Couldn't they have not mentioned maybe _some_ of it? Now my manly pride had nothing left, just a vague cloud dissipating slowly into the atmosphere.

"What are you doing down there, Kado?"

"Nothing much, checking for mushrooms."

"Under the table?"

"It's cold and dark down here, just like my soul."

"Well. Good luck then."

"Is our brother upset?" "Should we have not mentioned his failed attempt at-" "-looking cool?" "We were going to say waking up, but I suppose-" "-we can be merciful today."

Mom sat and tried to pretend that the oatmeal was delicious. I got the feeling that she'd be interrogating my sisters for details later, though.

I really do love my family. Probably.

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

After walking my sisters to the Kuoh middle school, (no matter what they say, I was walking them, they were _not_ walking me) I met up with Kioko in front of the school and headed inside, chatting about how difficult the math homework had been the night before. She'd apparently breezed through it, doing most of the calculations in her head. All I had to show for my work was a mass of scribbles on the page and the completed answers, half of which had question marks next to them, perfectly indicative of my confidence in them.

As soon as we reached a slightly less populated area, she grabbed my hand and pulled me off to one side. "I checked over the area last night for any unusual signs of energy, just in case there was another stray devil."

"Did you find anything?" I asked, suddenly worried. If she hadn't found anything, she would have just casually mentioned it to me as we walked, instead of pulling me aside. If there was another stray like the first one, I'd probably be obligated to at least warn Rias, and then she'd wonder where I got the information from.

She shook her head, guessing my general thoughts. "It wasn't another stray devil, thank goodness. It was odd though. There was a whole bunch of strange signals on the west side of town, by the city border." Her face had a slightly puzzled expression, still trying to put together the puzzle pieces. "They weren't like devils, but they didn't feel like they were really alive. It was dark, but more like sentience than actual life. The closest I can guess is some kind of golem perhaps?"

She was lost in thought for a time, musing over the possibilities. I let her think for a moment, used to this happening. She shook herself out of it before too long, refocusing on me. "Right, anyway. There was also a mass of human signatures with them, so maybe there's a group who's creating them? But whatever is happening, please stay away from there. With any luck, they'll stay in their corner and you won't have to deal with them. But I wanted you to know, just in case."

Then with a quick peck on the cheek which I returned, we separated into our classes. She was a year ahead of me, so none of our classes were the same. The first time we'd met was actually because of that. Due to a bet I'd lost when messing around with some old friends from a different school, I'd had to stand on the roof of the school, and as soon as I saw a large number of second-years exit the building, I had to scream out "Notice me senpai!" at the top of my lungs.

I'd done it, and while many of them laughed and moved on, one went back into the building and cornered me on the staircase as I'd tried to make my escape. She'd asked me why I'd done something so stupid, but when I told her that it was for a bet, she'd laughed and let me go. The weeks after that, she wouldn't let me pass by her in the halls without sneaking up behind me and whispering "noticed you, kouhai," into my ear. Months later when she asked if I would be her boyfriend, I'd told her yes, but only if she'd stop sneaking up behind me like that!

Lost in pleasant memories, I wandered off to homeroom, a goofy grin on my face and her warning almost completely forgotten.

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

After school me and Kioko agreed to show up at the Occult clubroom. Like it or not, I _was_ a part of the peerage and would be required to assist in battles or handing out contracts. Not to mention that they were currently just about our only link to the wider supernatural world. Kioko could get a good grasp of what was going on in Kuoh itself with her energy web, but anything beyond those limits or on the side of politics was invisible to her.

And so we were back in the clubroom after only a day, sipping some _very good_ tea made by Akeno and weathering the numerous suspicious looks that Rias cast our way as she lectured her other new servant, Issei.

"You're a devil now, you know? Carelessly going onto church soil is akin to invading enemy territory. We're at peace now, but doing something like that, I wouldn't be surprised if you got hit by a spear of light from heaven."

The brown-haired devil looked truly ashamed, gazing down at his feet with his hands in his pockets, instead of gazing down at his president's chest level. "Got it, Buchou, I won't go there again."

She nods her head vigorously, not quite done yet. "Exorcists and holy light are the biggest threats to you as a devil, and some of them are very enthusiastic about hunting down who they see as heathens. If you die because of an angel or holy light, it won't just be like when you died as a human. You'll be cut off from any afterlife and returned to nothing. You'll cease to exist, Issei."

She lightly grabbed his chin and brought it up to meet her sincere blue eyes. "I don't want that happening to you, Issei. So please be careful from now on."

Issei's gaze seemed to flicker through a few emotions that would start to show on his face, then be banished by the next one. Whatever his thoughts, there was some kind of inner struggle happening there. In the end he nodded. "Alright. I'll promise to be more careful, Buchou. I'll stay away from the church."

Our king sighed, relieved, and let her hand drop back down from his chin. "I'm relieved to hear it."

Unable to resist the temptation, I whispered loudly to Kioko "Don't suppose you have any popcorn? I'm all out and this is the best part."

In an equal tone of voice, Kioko whispered back "Get your own popcorn, I haven't seen drama this good since the last Land Before Time movie."

Rias seemed to freeze for a moment as she registered what she'd just done, before spinning on us with an angry glare and a slight blush of embarrassment. "And don't get me started on you, Kai-san! You might not be making friends with nuns, but you're certainly not making any friends here either. I have half a mind to tell you to go wander into church territory yourself!" Apparently she still held a grudge from the day before. While it was somewhat rewarding knowing that I could get under her skin like that, I'd just realized that it had been a really bad idea to sour my relationship with the person that basically owned my life. That joke about sending me into church territory? She could probably do that.

She was broken from any further ranting by Akeno offering a loud but polite cough from behind her. When Rias turned to look at her with a questioning eyebrow, she offered a small sheepish grin. "An order from the Arch Duke. There's a stray in the area."

Then Rias _smiled_ and I immediately regretted my earlier hasty decisions. "Perfect!"

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

Ten minutes and one teleportation later, the occupants of the clubroom sans Kioko were standing outside an abandoned two story building located on the edge of town. It had clearly been rundown for a long time, grass and weeds growing rampant in the front yard, but there was a stench of unholiness around the place that made my skin crawl.

It was dark outside, even though it was only five in the evening, another effect of whatever dark miasma was around the house perhaps? It did give me an opportunity to finally test out my new night vision, the final 'perk' that Rias had mentioned the day before. With it I could see that the shadowed door of the house was wide open. Seemingly the only sign in the entire place that something wasn't as it should be.

Rias was giving her regularly scheduled info-dump to Issei. She'd previously mentioned that stray devils were what a devil who had left his master was called, but now she was talking about how dangerous they were, something I was already very familiar with.

Ignoring her lecturing, I looked around at the other peerage members, gauging their reactions to the upcoming battle. Akeno was nearly bouncing in place, her excitement completely transparent. Perhaps she was a bit of a battle maniac? It would be an interesting secret side to the polite and demure 'great lady.' And yes that was a stupid title.

Kiba seemed like he was simply waiting, hands relaxed by his sides and the ever-present smile still on his face. He would have looked bored, but the lift in his brows and light in his eyes made it seem like he was _genuinely_ happy to simply wait in place.

I experimentally reached over to his face and poked his cheek. It did move, but his smile didn't waver, only his eyes flicking over to me with a confused look. _Experimentally_ , I poked it again. Multiple times. At high speed. His smile was beginning to become slightly strained and his hands were twitching. I'd just guessed that it would be another ten pokes before he broke when Rias called out from behind me, somehow not pausing her dialogue with Issei. "Stop harassing my knight, Kai-san," and I was forced to reluctantly withdraw my finger.

I turned to Koneko next, who was blandly chewing on a bag of candy, a blank stare gazing straight ahead. She didn't seem as happy as Kiba was to wait, just… content. "If you touch me with that I will break it," she said, monotone and interspersed with chewing sounds, not changing her expression one whit.

Looking down I realized that my finger had already begun to extend, reaching out towards her cheek. I looked back up at her face just as she bit down particularly hard on a piece of candy, a loud crunching sound ringing out. I winced, quickly yanking back my hand.

It sounded like Rias was wrapping up her talk with Issei, proclaiming that "…stray devils are the worst opponents of legitimate devils." So what happened to "Exorcists and holy light reduce you to nothingness?" And now that I think about it, isn't that an incredibly bad match up for us? The angels destroy us from existence, but we can't do the same to them? If we kill one of them, would they go to heaven since they're an angel? And is heaven an actual place? If it is, then wouldn't angels just always come right back and keep fighting?

I was pulled out of my downward spiral of thoughts by a harsh cruel laugh ringing out amidst the yard. "Ketaketaketaketa-" Wow, that was really annoying. "-ketaketaketa-" Kill me now, it would be better than enduring this. "-ketaketa-"

"I get it lady, now be quiet already! You're evil, we're properly intimidated, cut to the evil monologue already!" I blinked and realized that the rest of the peerage was staring at me with wide eyes. Except for Koneko who seemed to not care. I slowly pointed a finger at myself. "Did I just say that out loud?" They all nodded.

Well at least the cackling had stopped.

Rias cleared her throat and faced forward once more. "Stray devil Vaizor, we are here to eliminate you! Surrender or be slain."

I raised my hand and called out, "So if they do surrender, do we take 'em in? How does this work?"

Rias replied with a sigh, flickers of red energy beginning to erupt around her. "No, then it means they're an easier target."

Oh. Well I guess they were devils after all. Of course I was one too…

Then the ground began to shake slightly, reverberating with the sound of deep thuds and a faint clicking sound. Okay, whatever that was, it sounded creepy as Batman.

Don't ask.

Then a face slowly appeared from the unnatural shadow, a nice female face with all the proper female things like eyes and a mouth. That seemed normal enough, if it wasn't floating a good four meters above the ground. That meant that she could either fly, or was shaped like a telephone pole. For some reason I couldn't see the rest of her. Maybe the darkness was an ability of hers?

Then the stray devil began to speak. "So nice of you to all come to my lair like this. Please come in, have some tea."

"Said the spider to the fly," I muttered under my breath, glancing around to either find an escape route or any enemies trying to circle us. I wasn't precisely sure.

"Is that an offer of surrender?" Rias asked, clearly provoking the enemy. She seemed really eager for battle for some reason. Akeno, Kiba, and Koneko seemed to be willing to wait for whatever this was to finish, while Issei looked like he was either entranced by her beauty or frightened out of his wits.

A hand appeared on Vaizors cheek, cupping it with a worried expression. "Oh my no, can't we simply talk this out? I have some wonderful danish crumbles inside, and I could use some company."

Akeno looked to be getting a bit twitchy over there. Maybe she was worried that somebody else was a better host than she was? We were being rather rude, come to think of it. We basically came into someone's home and said that we're going to kill them.

Rias seemed to be losing patience and the strange flickers around her seemed to be growing stronger. "You are a rogue element in my territory, and need to be eliminated. Resistance or non-resistance will be met with lethal force."

"You know, I'm really not seeing a good reason to do this then," the floating face said, sounding concerned. "What if I just run, try to escape? If I make it into a more densely populated area you wouldn't be able to attack me, right? So what's keeping me from simply leaving?"

The flickering bursts around Rias stopped as her shoulders slumped. Were we actually going to give up, just like that? For the supposed "worst enemy of devils" that was it? Some talking and both parties leave alive? Then Rias turned to Issei and said, "Let me give you an example of how the various ranks in a peerage work." Then she turned back to the stray devil and said with a sigh, "If you fight us, I'll give you that one," poking her finger over her shoulder.

I carefully tracked where her finger was pointing, already having a pretty good idea. Indeed, it was aimed right at the center of my chest. "Hey!" I objected, suddenly very scared for my life. "Aren't you supposed to protect me as a king or something?"

"I literally own your life and you are useless to me." Was her only reply. Ouch.

Suddenly my earlier idea of looking for escape routes didn't seem like such an odd idea. The stray devil seemed to think for an moment, as if considering the deal. Come on, I thought you were a nice one! "Done," she decided.

Then she stepped forward and the nearly miraculous darkness around her suddenly dissipated, revealing a giant thorax with dozens of legs attached to it and an upper body that still looked human- I spun around and gazed stalwartly at the street, and away from the monster.

Silence seemed to hang in the air for a bit, before my master and Vaizor spoke nearly at the same time. "Did you just…" "Really, Kai-san…"

Neither one of them seemed to quite know how to react to that, and I was pretty sure I could hear an "Ara ara" and muffled chuckling from behind me. Issei was the one that was really vocal though. "Seriously? She's an enemy that's specifically targeting you! You have no excuse not to look! Are you a man or not!"

"I won't be one for long if I turn around!" I yelled back, a scissoring motion with two raised fingers making my point.

Rias must have just given up on me, since she started to issue orders to her subordinates. "That was clearly enemy action, so: Yuuto!"

"Yes!" from behind me I heard a sound of rushing wind, the sound of a sword slicing through air, and the stray devil's screams. My, what a wonderful road! Barely any potholes in it at all. Actually, where'd Kiba get the sword from? He was unarmed before, right?

I could hear Rias telling Issei about the knight's speed, before she called out "Koneko!" before continuing her narration. Several loud thuds rang out from behind me and I heard a sharp crack, accompanied by more screaming from Vaizor. And is this an actual dandelion in grass beneath my feet! My, it's almost rare to see one of those nowadays.

"Akeno!"

"Fufu, what shall I do to you?" followed by crackling sounds and more sharp screams. And through it all, I could hear the "Ohohohoho" of Akeno accompanied by the sharp smell of ozone.

Somehow in all the commotion, I made out a comment by Rias. "…and she's the ultimate sadist."

…What's someone like that doing on a battlefield! Have some common sense please! Regardless, what interesting pebbles here. I think I found one that's actually _pink_! I wonder if that's natural or…

Yeah who am I kidding. I've had enough. Spinning around on one heel I ran back into the battle, trying my best to ignore the quivering form of the stray devil still being electrocuted by Akeno, who was flying in the sky. Guess those devil wings were good for something after all.

I dashed past Rias and Issei who were still standing still at the edge of the battle zone, managing to get all the way to the downed stray devil. I hesitated for a moment at seeing the streams of lightning just in front of me that were electrocuting Vaizor, but I gathered my courage and stepped into the way of the stream of lightning.

Luckily for me, Akeno had seen my approach from above and was shocked enough to halt her barrage, so I wasn't hurt by my reckless action. But now I was where I wanted to be, standing between Vaizor and the rest of the devils, arms spread wide and feet set, a determined look in my eye.

At least I hoped so. Honestly I was terrified. Not only was I directly opposing my master, but I had seen, or at least heard, the damage that her pieces had dealt to Vaizor in less than a minute, only avoiding killing her because Rias probably wanted the privilege. And these were the people that I was currently denying their prey.

"Kai-san, what?…" Rias just looked confused, Issei along with her. Kiba seemed merely amused, while Koneko was placid as always. A flicker of my gaze upwards and I could make out the Akeno's pout and the hungry look in her eyes.

The shuddering breaths behind me and the scent of blood lingering in the air cemented my resolve though. I lifted my chin high and said. "Sorry Master, but it looks like I'm going stray."

Rias still looked confused, but her tone was just slightly condescending. "Kai-san, you remember that you were killed by a stray devil, right? Why are you protecting this one?"

"So if devils are dangerous, should I stand back and let you be tortured and killed too? You're devils after all, same as them." I shot back, heat in my tone.

I could tell that I was different after becoming a devil. Going out in the sun hurt a lot more, for one. I seemed more distant from my family and more loyal to my king as a second. And I had less empathy. I could see the effects in Issei, someone who had become a devil just shortly before me, who stood back and had listened to a lecture while watching someone be killed before his eyes.

But Kai Kado was not someone who would stand back and watch someone be tortured and killed in front of him, devil or human! And yet I felt a roiling in my stomach at the fact that I had almost done just that. I had turned away and almost hadn't helped her, simply because I was a devil and she was an enemy. And I hated that.

Rias' expression was stern now and even Kiba looked less amused, realizing that I was serious. "Step away from the stray devil, Kai-san. You are a member of my peerage and I don't want to declare you a stray, but I will if you don't obey."

"Why do you care," I replied anger starting to overtake my reason. "Didn't you say that I was worthless and that you owned my life? So why hesitate!" Yeah, maybe I had gone too far with teasing her, but if she was someone who saw people as pawns to do with as she chose, than maybe I would rather die than be a part of her peerage.

"That was a lie to get her to attack us!" Rias announced, clearly exasperated. "Of course I wouldn't sacrifice my cute pawn like that!"

And _that_ was the straw that broke the camels back.

I breathed in deeply, trying to bite back my anger, and yelled out "Well this pawn is promoting itself to a king then! I don't care if I'm useless, I don't care if I'm annoying, and I don't care that I'm apparently your plaything! Don't toy with people's lives!"

The resulting shocked silence was broken by the hoarse chuckling from behind me and a wet cough. "Ah, so there's one after all. Too bad you're a cute one."

Then I felt an empty sensation that I had felt once before, just two nights ago. A painful, hollow feeling in my chest. My gaze slowly drifted down as the peerage arrayed in front of me gasped and I saw, as I'd expected, a blood red hand emerging from my chest. In it was clutched an equally red chess piece.

Oh, that's what she meant, I thought, slumping downwards onto Vaizors arm before beginning to slowly slide closer to the ground. I could hear faint yelling from somewhere, but it all seemed so distant and the rushing in my ears easily drowned it out. I could still hear Vaizors "I'm sorry" though, and could barely feel chilled lips on my cheek as my vision slowly slid closed.

* * *

Chapter 1 Omake

The red-haired girl tapped a finger on her chin. "Well, I suppose he did save my cute little servant…"

"Your cute little _what?_ "

Rias was about to reach into her pocket for the one remaining pawn piece when her hand halted and she froze.

"What is it, Buchou?" Kiba asked, swiveling his head around to look for any enemies his master picked up on.

"Do you realize what this means?" Rias asked, slightly breathless. She was moving now, her head swiveling from the skyscraper-in-construction to the pile of pipes to the nude figure pinned by a fallen beam.

"Do you know what this _means?_ " She asked again, tone growing more excited.

The rest of the peerage glanced from side to side, unsure of what their master was talking about.

Issei had lost patience though. "Can't you heal him or whatever first? You can deal with that later!"

Then Rias' grinning face was directly in front of his, forcing him to yelp and backpedal away from her beaming eyes. "We don't need to resurrect him," Rias announced, spreading her arms wide.

"Huh?"

"Buchou?"

" _What!_ "

In the face of the reaction, Rias only grinned wider. "Can't you see! All we need to do is implant her organs," she motioned to the dead Zillamon, "into him! It'll save his life just fine!"

Akeno had finally caught on and was laughing loudly, severely concerning Issei, Kiba, and Koneko as to whether their king and queen were going crazy. Rias suddenly stopped laughing and motioned for Akeno to come with her as she stepped towards the impaled body. "Now come on Akeno, he's already lost a lot of blood."

That cut Akeno's laughter short. "Wait, you were serious?"

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

I cracked my left eye open, expecting to see whatever the pearly gates or obsidian arch looked like, instead finding myself gazing up at a white ceiling. As feeling returned to my body, I could hear the faint beeping of a heart monitor and feel a mask of some kind over my mouth.

Blinking, I opened the other eye too and began to look around the room. My body felt fine, but I seemed exhausted, barely able to move my head. I seemed to be in a hospital, but what kind of hospital could bring the dead back to life?

As my head slowly turned I caught sight of something else on a windowsill. And what kind of hospital had Straw Hat figurines in the rooms?

My attention refocused as the door opened and I slowly turned my head to face it. Inside the room came a girl dressed in a nurse outfit that looked remarkably like Rias Gremory, one of the most famous girls in our school. Was she part-timing as a nurse in her spare time?

The Probably-Gremory looked up from some kind of clipboard and brightened up dramatically. "Ah, you're awake! I wasn't sure you were going to wake up for another week! This is great!"

Then she leaned forward, clipboard held tightly to her chest and asked me with a serious look, "Now do you feel… hungry?"

I wasn't sure how to answer that even if I could, my tongue and mouth still not responding. I guessed from the feeling in my stomach that I was indeed hungry, and managed to give a awkward head nod in response.

The girl looked even happier at that and quickly straightened up. "Oh lovely! I'll bring in some food right away."

Before she left, she casually removed the breath air pump mask from my face, casually saying "You didn't need that anyway," as she did so.

Now I was worried. Something about the situation seemed extremely off, and was it just me, or did that nurse seem a bit _too_ excited about feeding me?

It was only a few minutes later when she returned, bearing a bowl of delicious-smelling soup on a tray. She propped me up on the bed, passed me the tray and a spoon, and then settled down on a nearby chair, watching me intently.

That seemed very odd, but I was hungry. I still couldn't move my arms though, although my mouth did seem to be coming back. After a minute of me staring at the steaming soup and Gremory staring at me, I was able to work them well enough to croak out "Can't move… arms."

The nurse was on her feet in an instant, looking abashed. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't realize that your body would still be recovering. Let me help you."

She rose the first spoonful to me mouth and gently lowered it in, waiting for me to swallow before removing the spoon.

"Now, Mr. Kai, tell me," she enthused, "How did it taste?"

Well it might not have been the best soup that I'd ever had, but any food tasted good to a hungry stomach, so I said "Delicious."

Apparently that was the wrong answer. Her face immediately sank into a frown and she stole the soup away, taking a taste from the same spoon, a disappointed look on her face as whatever she had expected to happen didn't.

"You sure?" She asked me, almost pleading? "You sure it doesn't taste awful or something and you're just trying to spare my feelings?"

All I could do was nod, thoroughly confused. The nurse seemed to almost snap after that, murmuring to herself and beginning to pace the room. I was honestly starting to grow worried and was subtly trying to move my hands and legs in preparation for an escape. Wherever this was, it wasn't the hospital.

Eventually she snapped her fingers, having come to a decision. "Well, there's only one way to find out for sure." She left the room in a hurry and I accelerated my attempts to move, eager to get away from the crazy woman as fast as possible.

Then some strange thumping noises emerged from through the still-open door. I froze until I heard a crashing sound and quickly returned to my efforts with increased vigor. Then finally there was a sharp scream from outside that was quickly silenced.

Within seconds the same smiling red-haired nurse came back into the room, holding a small dish within which I could see a few drops of a red liquid that I had a horrifying suspicion of what it could be.

Gremory's face turned almsot deranged as she approached, smile stretching from ear to ear. "Now _eat up~_ "

Panicking I managed to throw my hands forward in an effort to keep my mad schoolmate at bay. It succeeded in knocking her back a few steps, but afterwards I was frozen, staring at my outstretched arms.

The sudden motion and caused the blanket to fall off of the appendages and I could finally see them clearly. The left arm was the arm I was used to seeing, slightly pale and just a tad thin, but with slight muscle tone visible. The only change were the long scars that seemed to wriggle around my arm, intertwining and connecting in a grisly patchwork of sowing marks that made it look like a giant centipede.

The right arm was a good three inches longer than my left one and was completely different. It had no scars on it, but was instead a pale pink and felt soft, far softer than it should have. The fingernails on the fingers were long and painted black. As my gaze drifted farther up the foreign appendage, it halted on another scar that seemed oddly uniform on my right shoulder, showing a clear separation between my natural flesh and the nearly alien but clearly _female_ arm.

The nurse had halted her approach, simply watching as my face went from confused to horrified to simply scared.

Uncaring of her watching, I grabbed the green hospital uniform I was clad in and stretched it out in front of me, looking down the front to what was another too-clean scar and a decidedly female chest. The last check, my more familiar left hand dove down into the blankets and finding it's destination, felt only nothingness where it used to be.

My scream echoed for a good ten minutes around the entirety of Kuoh.

 **"I** **'m not the protagonist of a novel or anything… I'm a high school student who likes to read, like you could find anywhere. But… if, for argument's sake, you were to write a story with me in the lead role, it would certainly be… a tragedy." -Tokyo Ghoul Ch. 1 (slightly modified.)**

* * *

End AN: Tada! First things first, about the omake since it's hopefully fresh in your minds. I started reading Tokyo Ghoul recently, and managed to make it to chapter 90 of :re in about a week. Until last week I had no idea that my idea for the stray devil's death so closely mimicked the one in that series and there was absolutely no plagiarism involved. So I wrote up a quick omake as a sort of apology to anyone who has read the series and recognized the method of death. To anyone who has not read the series, hopefully it was still minorly enjoyable and I would only recommend the series if gore doesn't bother you at all.

Second thing. Yeah, that's a cliffhanger. Originally this and chapter 4 were going to be one chapter, but it turns out that would be over 10k words. So when I checked and found that if I cut it right at the cliffhanger it would be in the 5k range. (minus omake and ANs) How could I pass up a chance like that? I have absolutely no problem with long chapters and get so excited when an awesome story has 15k-20k chapters. But I did intend for this to be something that people could read without having to set aside time to do it in, so I don't know that my chapters will ever be _that_ long. We'll see though.

Thirdly! No, this is not Rias-bashing. I do have some problems with how she seems to almost portion out information only as it's needed, never really sitting down and just talking about "By the way basically everybody in the supernatural world hates your guts," but I don't hate her as a character and she definitely has some good points. She has a _reason_ in my fic why she is acting like that to Kado, and it will be explained next chapter. So please be patient until you receive that, and then send me any thoughts that you have on the subject.

And about how different Vaizor is? (Four, in case you hadn't guessed) I mentioned in the start AN that this is going AU, and this is where it really began. When I'm writing a scene for this fic, I look up the scene in the translated novels so I know what's happening, and then write the scene as well as I can without checking back on it. Basically, their conversations will probably be on the same topics if it's a canon scene, but won't be the same, phrased differently at least. The line about stray devils being a devils worst enemy? Yeah, that's basically what she says in the actual novel though. Confused me too, when I read it.

Fifth and I believe last, yes, Kado was pretty stupid there. Hopefully I wrote it in a way that you can at least see why he did it, but he is a quote unquote hero after all. He's not the protagonist, he's the side character/pseudo-antagonist that is so affixed on being a hero or justice that they can't see what's right in front of them. Hopefully by me writing this you'll look back to chapter one and realize that facing off against somebody with probably magical powers so that your classmate who you only know as a terrible person can survive is a _really bad idea_. But that's what Kado did. I've always had a love for characters who jump into danger to save other people and manage to do it against all odds, that's no secret. But I ended up wanting to write Kado as a character who jumps in to save others from danger and does suffer from it. He does stupid things and is powerless. But he's going to keep jumping in and getting himself hurt. Maybe it'll all work out in the end and maybe it won't, I'm still writing it. But being a hero isn't always a good thing.

And nope there was one more, sixth! His family is something that I struggled a lot writing this, and many of their quirks I'm still figuring out as I go. But I do at least try to have reasons why they act the way that they do, from the typical-identical-twins to his loving-but-distant father and even the so-far-silent mother. If you guys have thoughts on how I can improve them or make them more realistic somehow, please let me know, since I'm still not sure how good of a job I did on them.

And finally, for all of you who actually read through that giant slog of justification, here's a small teaser for next chapter. Get excited for Wingman!Issei.


	4. Ack! Relationship Kryptonite!

AN: Hello everybody, and I actually got this one submitted on _time~_

Praise me.

Also praise the 18 Favorites and 29 Follows that I somehow have now! Not sure what drew you guys in enough to actually read this and then _want to read more_ , but thank you for your faith and I hope that I don't disappoint.

I've actually had this one written up for over a week already (writing ahead for the win!) so I mostly did a thorough edit to make sure that it was up to scratch and remove any lingering typos.

Since I haven't been missing for months, there isn't as much to say about this one, but the big thing that I definitely want to mention is something that I was pretty sure I mentioned in either the chapter 1 or chapter 2 Author Notes, which I accidentally deleted when I re-uploaded those. The big thing is that...

 _I have no idea how relationships work_ _and yet I am trying to write one help.  
_

I have basically minimal human interaction outside my family, and am admittedly anti-social in the first place. I haven't even _seen_ an actual dating relationship in real life. I think. Maybe. I'm 70% sure that my brother might be dating someone, which tended to mean seeing neither of them for long stretches on end. (Marathons, hikes, and fireworks, all strictly PG I can assure you.)

So basically, any actual dating or relationship knowledge that I have is from books or TV. What I'm trying to pull off is making something seem 3D and filled in when all I've seen myself is 2D facades. Not to say that author's romance can't be realistic, but I have no idea if it is or not. So if I mess up something, _please_ let me know. Just because I don't have the knowledge is no excuse for turning out something that seems totally fake and plastic.

The other thing is that I'm going to go ahead and call out psychominer for their help with this story. We've been talking via PMs and they've given me a bunch of ideas for this story that hopefully you guys can see later. So a quick thanks/public-harassing to you, my good person.

Just a quick PSA, stealing is wrong and don't do it.

And a possible attempted-suicide trigger warning in this chapter. It doesn't actually happen, but a character considered it off-screen. It is only mentioned in two sentences, but I don't want to take any chances.

Disclaimer-because-I-forgot-last-chapter-oops: I do not own DxD and probably don't even own whatever mangled amalgamation I'm going to twist it into. **  
**

* * *

It seemed like an eternity before I felt anything again. As life slowly began to return to my limbs I could faintly recall the sensation of simply drifting, being free and loose from everything, but it seemed to flee from me, dissipating as quickly as I tried to grasp the memories.

And then I was alive again, wide eyes looking upwards into the night sky while a harsh voice berated me.

"Idiot! Idiot idiot idiot idiot! What happened to coming back to me alive, huh!" Something slapped my cheek but I could barely feel the sting. I could tell that the hole in my chest was gone, but it still felt like something was missing.

I tried to reach up a hand to check the area, but my body couldn't move. All I could do was lie there and listen to Kioko's tears, feeling my heart break a little more at each one. "Doing something stupid like trying to protect an enemy! Only you would be that stupid! Stupid stupid stupid stupid!" Her breath hiccuped and she paused for a moment, before resuming. "I had to feel you die _again_! And I knew you can't be revived when you're a devil! It was even worse than last time! I was about to kill myself when I felt you come back!"

I managed to twitch my right hand slightly and focused on that until I could shakily reach it upwards and cup her face slightly, her skin feeling so warm against my own cold. I could feel as she latched onto it, pulling it deeper into her cheek as she continued to cry, but no more words emerged.

I could see the figures of the rest of the peerage around me, staying silent as they watched my prone figure and suddenly felt a burst of shame. I'd done what I was sure was the right thing, protecting the devil, but I'd put no thought as to Kioko or the others, basically telling them to kill me. What was I thinking? I hadn't been, so filled with selfish self-righteousness that I'd tossed everything else to the wayside.

As soon as my mouth and vocal chords could work, I licked my lips and croaked out "Sorry." It wasn't just for Kioko. As much as I had said that Rias didn't care about me or her other servants, she was the only person around who could have brought me back. I could still see in the dark and feel the vague energy running through me, so I was still a devil. Which meant I owed my life to her. Again.

"Sorry," I repeated, falling silent. The next few minutes were spent listening to Kioko's weeping and internally kicking myself in the head. Would have done it physically too, but I still couldn't move and wasn't sure my foot bent that far.

When my girlfriend's sobs had died down to the occasional hiccup and I could stiffly move again, Rias stepped forward, a somber look on her face. I was sure that she was going to start telling me how I had put her peerage in danger, but I was surprised when instead she bowed low to me, her crimson hair cascading down around her head.

"I must apologize to you, Kado-san," she said, sounding sincere. "I had received some advice to treat my servants more strictly and let them know who was 'king' in the relationship, so to speak. I still had some residual anger at you, and let it affect me in the worst way possible. I would never sacrifice a member of my peerage, my family, to another devil, and I can only reflect that it was my actions and casual attitude towards you that made you think that."

She straightened back up and I was taken aback by the fire I could see in her eyes. "I, Rias Gremory, of the house of Gremory, vow that I will never release my peerage to anyone or anything, whether it be to another devil, time, or death itself. All that I ask of you is that you help me to do the same, to protect my family."

Faced with that conviction, that pure fervor in her eyes, what could I do but chuckle softly, closing my eyes and pretending that the tear running down the side of my face wasn't there. And so what if it was! I had just come back from death and was allowed to shed a tear of relief! "Apology accepted, Master. This pawn shall serve you to the end of it's days." Which actually might be pretty short at this rate.

The rest of the peerage stepped forward in turn, declaring their own oath, one by one. "This knight shall never surrender and will always wield his sword for his master and friends."

"This queen shall always teach and guide her fellow peerage members, in the best ways she can, fufu~."

"I will protect you. Even pervert-senpai."

And finally, Issei. "This pawn swears that I will never stop running forward! I will protect Buchou, Akeno-senpai, Pretty Boy, and Koneko-chan! I'll even protect the stupid weakling!" Ouch. "And I will continue to get stronger until I…" don't tell me… "become the harem king!"

When faced with something like that, what else can you do but smile?

Something had been bothering me though. "So if I die as a devil, there's no way to bring me back, right? So how am I still alive? And a devil?"

Rias answered that one with a slightly disgruntled tone in her voice. "Stray devil Vaizor saved you."

"…come again? Same evil lady who stabbed me in the back?"

A voice suddenly near my ear viciously whispered, "Oh, so _now_ you're done protecting the topless enemy devil?" …Yeah, I was going to pay for that. And everything else.

Nodding, Rias continued. "When she attacked you, she directly impaled your evil piece, bringing it out of your body. I can only guess she did it on purpose, trying to let you die as a human, but I can't be sure. Without an evil piece you still weren't completely human, so you'd be banned from heaven, but you wouldn't exactly be a devil either.

"So I was able to revive you using the same evil piece. I'm not sure it's been done before, so I don't know if there will be side effects from becoming a devil twice, but I can safely say that it won't work a third time, even if your evil piece is extracted." She shrugged helplessly. "You might even die if your evil piece is removed, since it's basically the only thing keeping you alive at this point."

Throughout her explanation, the grip Kioko had on my hand was slowly tightening, until I swore I could feel my devil-enhanced bones scraping together.

I couldn't help but mentally curse myself again. She'd just started working on a possible way to extract the evil piece so I could become a full human again, but this would completely ruin any chance of that route.

If we wanted to live together or die together, she would either have to lengthen her own life, or do something bad enough to send her to the same place that devils went when they died. Which was dissolving into nothing, so still not much point.

In one fell swoop, I had broken the promise that we had made, putting my own life in direct danger without considering the consequences, and now she was paying for my stupidity.

Stiffly working my body up to a sitting position, I brought my left arm up to give her a hug, but she pushed my arm away as if it was going to bite her, standing up and beginning to walk off, shoulders shaking and fists clenched.

I tried to clamber onto my feet, but had died too recently and my legs couldn't support the weight yet. I punched the ground angrily, feeling the bits of grass stick to my fingers, and bit my lip as I was forced to watch her walk away.

I had the feeling that if I couldn't fix this or do something about it now, our relationship as it currently was would be ruined.

I could feel hot tears starting to gather in the corners of my eyes when my vision was suddenly blocked by a back settling down in front of me, Hyoudou Issei's determined face looking back at me. "Come on, stupid chivalrous idiot. I can't just sit back after saying that I'd protect you."

I could only give a watery smile and wrap my hands around his neck. How could I have ever thought that these guys were heartless monsters? I vowed to do everything I could to make up for my mistakes from that moment on. A useless pawn I might be, but I was gonna be the best useless pawn in the whole underworld!

He gathered my legs up in his arms and with a grunt of exertion, stood up and started running after Kioko. His devil-enhanced legs caught up to Kioko before too long and then slowed down to keep pace with her as I leaned over, feeling another pang of guilt at truly seeing her tear-streaked face lit up by devil-vision.

"Kioko, I'm-"

"Cut it, you jerk," she said, still wiping her eyes but her voice was clear. And very angry. "You didn't even think of me when you went and did something that stupid. No matter which side was right or wrong, you'd end up dead. It was only luck that I didn't lose you for good this time."

"I was-"

"Stupid and an idiot, I know." She interrupted again. "I called you both names about a hundred times while you were lying in front of me, barely breathing!"

She stopped and whirled towards me and my carrier. "You have no idea what that feels like. I was this close to killing myself because you had died!" She held up two fingers almost touching, and it felt like a punch to my gut. Did I really mean that much to her?

I stayed silent this time, just letting her yell at me, the feelings of self-loathing in my gut climbing higher and higher.

"We made a promise, didn't we! And then you went and broke it without a second thought! You put protecting an enemy, someone you were supposed to _kill_ in front of me and in front of your own life! How can I ever trust that you won't do the same again? How can we be a couple when I can't trust that you'll _ever_ put me first? We have fun, but I don't think I can handle this!"

I was just reaching the spiritual level of a cockroach when Issei, my friendly neighborhood wingman suddenly spoke up, not quite facing Kioko.

"I think I get what you're saying, Horikawa-san. He hurt you really badly, and I know this is none of my business, but I can't just stay quiet."

He took a deep breath and continued. "Yeah, Kai-san was really stupid and didn't trust Buchou or the rest of us, and he almost got himself killed. But before he turned into an idiot, he faced away from the fight, you know?"

He adjusted his grip on me and I could tell he was nervous by the tight grip his fingers had on my legs. "I mean he thought that Buchou was gonna feed him to the stray devil, but he didn't run, and he didn't even look at her boobs! I mean, he must really love you a lot to do something like that."

I was pretty sure both mine and Kioko's faces were identical pictures of shock, but Issei went on, finally turning to look Kioko in the eyes. "And even when he tried to save her and said something really dumb about becoming a king or whatever, I…"

Issei took a deep breath and continued to gaze directly at her. "…I thought that Kai-san looked really cool right then, you know! I always say that I'm jealous of people like Kai-san or Kiba-san who have people that like them, because I think that something like you guys have is special! And I don't want to see my peerage member lose something that important to him or you! So won't you please forgive Kai-san!"

I will deny to the end of my days that I was crying then, but on a completely unrelated topic, if anyone ever asked for a recommendation of character for one Hyoudou Issei, I would step forward and tell anyone listening that he was one of the best people that I knew.

Kioko looked directly back into Issei's eyes for a minute, before she averted her gaze, her lip trembling slightly. "I already know that, Issei-san." Huh?

"I know how cool he is when he's saving someone, and how courteous he is with women and with me." She spun around to face the other way.

"That's why I can't help but hate myself a tiny bit for falling in love with him even more when I hear he did something like that! If I love him more and more when he risks his life, how can I be his girlfriend and still keep wanting him to do things that put his life in danger?"

I was frozen in place, my mental gears spinning but catching nothing. She… she what? Wut? Wat? Huh? I couldn't seem to grasp what she meant, but was listening with rapt attention as she went on.

"I want to be there for him, and I want to protect him, but I'm afraid that the more I love him, that one day when he really does die protecting somebody else, that I'll never be able to let go! That I'll do something awful because I love him so much! I could change the world, I could raise seas, enlarge forests, I could kill cities of people! I don't want to be a monster because of him, but part of me is leaping at the chance to be a monster for his sake! That I'd do anything for him!"

Issei shook his head, confused. Honestly I was too. Was it possible to love someone that much? I didn't even think we were barely leaving the "like" word yet. "I don't get what you mean by killing people or the trees or whatever, but I can't believe that love is ever a bad thing."

He took a pose, momentarily letting go of my right leg and I realized I could move it again. "That's why I'll make sure that all the women in my harem love me, so that-"

"Hey Issei," I said, frantically trying to wipe the tears in my eyes on his uniform shoulder. "I think my legs can work now. You okay with leaving me and Kioko alone for now?"

Luckily he stopped at the hint. "Ah, sure, Kai-san!" He let me down gently, making sure that my feet were underneath me, before giving me a thumbs up as he left.

After a moment of hesitation, I called after him and said a phrase that I never thought I would ever say. "Hey Issei! Good luck with your harem!"

His head turned to face me with the biggest smile I had ever seen, his eyes shining. He gave me one more thumbs up and then started jogging back to where the other devils were.

Refocusing on Kioko, she was standing just a few feet from me, her head down and blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail that draped over one shoulder. Her hands were clenched into fists, but I couldn't be sure if it was anger or something else.

Taking a few wobbly steps forward with my shaky legs, I enfolded her into my arms. "Yeah, I'm an idiot and stupid, and I probably _will_ die that way. So please take care of me and keep me from doing anything like that, because I want to live the rest of my long devil life with you. I love you, Horikawa Kioko. Forever and ever, though I'm an idiot, so I'll probably forget sometimes. Please always be there to remind me."

I heard a muffled murmur from the girl in my arms and loosened my embrace, letting her get some distance. "Sorry, what was that?"

She looked up with a bright red face. "I forgot you were there when I said all that. Please forget it all!"

All I could do at that was hug her tighter and laugh, long and hard into the night sky, using her warmth to distract from the aching feeling in my chest. And I was sure that I didn't imagine the "I love you too, idiot." That emerged from my girlfriend.

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

A few minutes later Kioko helped me back to the rest of the group, who were discussing something around a perfectly round and perfectly smooth crater in the ground. As we got near, they stopped and turned to regard us. My stupid mistake was still all-too-fresh in my mind, and I nervously scanned the faces of the gathered devils.

Koneko was actually showing emotion for once, surprising enough. Apparently she'd run out of candy and was pouting. As childish as it was, it reminded me that the only reason that we were still out was because they'd waited for me to be revived and then to talk to Kioko.

Kiba's face seemed placid as ever, the same easy grin on his face, but he looked almost too relaxed, compared to his his usual alert and straight posture. Akeno was basically the same, casually smiling but somehow it seemed off.

Issei, hashtag best wingman, looked clearly upset, his frown only growing more pronounced as he saw me coming. Whatever was happening, he didn't seem too happy with me right now. Whatever it was, I wanted to see if I could do anything about it. He'd helped me out just now, and I still wanted to pay him back for that.

Rias was the only one that seemed normal, a concerned look on her face as she watched me approach, eyes flickering between my still-weak legs and the arm I had around Kioko's shoulders.

As we got close enough to be considered a part of the group, I opened my mouth to ask what they had been talking about, but reconsidered before I said anything. Whatever it had been about, it was probably about me, and they'd stopped talking about it when I got close for a reason. I was intensely curious about what the subject had been, but I was going to be a _good_ servant now, and that started by not asking awkward questions that they probably didn't want me asking.

So instead I took a deep breath and asked "What happened to Vaizor?"

I was instantly whacked on the back of the head by Kioko and was the recipient of several cold stares or sighs. Even Issei looked a little upset at that, though it could just be a remnant of the earlier conversation.

I held up my hands in surrender, going on the defensive. "Hey, I'm just curious. If she got away, then we're gonna have to hunt her down again, right? Or is this," I poked at the edge of the smooth crater with my toe, "the remnant of a self-destruct function?"

They all seemed to relax slightly at that, Rias breathing out a small sigh of relief. "You might not have been aware, but Vaizor had a sacred gear that lets her adapt and get stronger every time she kills someone. That's why she had been killing so many people in the area, probably saving up for the inevitable fight."

Sacred gear? What's that? Sounded like some kind of special ability, but I'd better wait until after she was done explaining to ask. Rule number two of being a good servant, don't interrupt Rias.

"When she killed you she became healed and resistant to Akeno's lightning," my master continued. "So I just killed her." And then she shrugged, like it was no big deal.

"So wait," I asked, raising my hand like I was in school, "you just killed her, that easily? Why didn't you do that before?"

Rias held out her right hand and a dark red orb that seemed to almost radiate destruction appeared above her palm. "This is the power of destruction, my family's inherited power. It devours almost anything in an instant." As if to demonstrate, she lightly tossed it to the side, where it ate through a few inches of ground in seconds before she dissipated it.

Issei interrupted at that point, waving his arms as if to illustrate the fight. "Yeah, Buchou was really angry after you died, so she had Kiba and Akeno lead her away from your body before just blasting her! She finished her off super easily!"

A hand on his shoulder from Akeno reigned in the excited boy as Rias continued. "I originally had Kiba, Koneko, and Akeno attack her first, so that I could demonstrate the power of the various evil pieces." Then she cocked an eyebrow at me and asked "And if I had attacked her with my power of destruction before, would you have jumped in front of that, too?"

I cringed a bit at that, actually considering. I could feel the sense of death coming from it, so I probably would have had doubts, but yeah, I would have probably still tried to protect the stray devil anyway. And have done absolutely nothing for my efforts and life.

Then I still had one more question. "The other thing, what's a sacred gear?"

Rias looked to Akeno, who quickly explained "He asked to leave before I told Ise-chan about his, so he isn't aware yet."

Rolling her eyes slightly, probably at my previous antics, Rias put one hand on her hip as she explained. "A sacred gear is an artifact that is given to humans by god. Many people go their entire lives without awakening theirs, but if they do, the sacred gear can have a variety of effects. For example, Ise?"

Issei eagerly stepped forward and extended his left arm. Screwing his face into a mask of concentration, he blinked and a red gauntlet manifested on his wrist in a flash of green light. It looked like it had a large jewel embedded into the back of it, as well as two large horns that ran back along his arm. He held it up as though it was the holy grail, obviously proud.

"This is my sacred gear, Twice Critical! It lets me double my strength." To give an example he took off running, and then a few steps away, I heard a voice call out [BOOST] just as Issei's speed picked up dramatically. I wasn't an expert by any means, but I _would_ say that it was about twice as fast as before.

Making a large circle around the yard, Issei skidded to a stop next to the group and dismissed his sacred gear. "Pretty cool, huh?" He almost looked like a puppy at the moment, eager for praise after performing a trick.

Rias cleared her throat, bringing the attention back to her. "The other kind of sacred gear is an internal type, one that is, well, internal. For example, Yuuto?"

Kiba stepped forward, looking completely at ease. "My sacred gear is called Sword Birth. It allows me to create any kind of demonic sword that I wish, each with a unique power." To demonstrate, a sword suddenly appeared in his hands and he performed a few swings with it before it vanished. "It's not that powerful," he said sheepishly, "and it mostly depends on how good the user is with a sword."

Not powerful or not, that was way cool! You weren't a man if you didn't harbor a love of swords somewhere within you. Most heroes, especially of fantasy novels, always had a sword of some kind, often magical. And here was someone with the ability to _create magical swords!_

I squinted at Kiba, causing him to shift a little. "Are you secretly the main character of a novel?"

He looked surprised, but easily responded. "Not that I'm aware of, why do you ask?"

Still not entirely convinced, I continued to stare and asked "Could you say "trace on" for me really quick?"

Kiba looked entirely confused now, but I was certain I heard a gasp from someone else in the group. A quick glance around didn't reveal who it was though and I returned my attention to the knight. He shrugged his shoulders and said "Trace on." without any inflection or pause.

No glowing green lines appeared on his skin, or black and white swords manifesting, or a gender-bent king of England, so I guess that theory was null.

"Could you say 'I am the bone of-'" I was interrupted by Kioko whacking me on the back of my head, a pretty clear indicator of her mood.

I was kinda relieved, actually. She hadn't said much since her little confession earlier, and I was worried she was still upset or angry. She was still being quiet, but her hitting me meant that she was at least engaged in the conversation and willing to step in if I went too far.

Glancing at her by my side, she still seemed down, with tear stains remaining on her face. I really would have to do something to make it up to her. No, a million things. For all the times that I hadn't up till now.

Facing the circle again, I had just opened my mouth when Rias interrupted me, an apologetic expression on her face. "I am sorry, Kai-san, but I already checked when I first resurrected you. You don't have a sacred gear of any kind. I'm afraid you're a completely regular human." Then she corrected herself. "Well devil, I suppose, but you get the picture."

I cleared my throat, a little sheepish that she had so clearly guessed my question. _"Actually_ , I was going to ask if all of you had sacred gears. Like your ball-of-death-thingy and Akeno's lightning. Or even Koneko…" I realized that Koneko had left at some point during the conversation and cast a worried look at Rias.

"Koneko just left to get some sleep. There's still school tomorrow after all, and it's past nine at night." Rias wasn't concerned, and after remembering the crunching sound I had heard before from Koneko's attack, I supposed that I didn't need to be either.

"We'll probably break up soon, but as far your last question goes, Akeno uses magic to achieve her elemental spells, and my power of destruction is a family ability, not a sacred gear. Koneko has no boosts except for her rook piece."

I nodded, before refocusing on something that she'd said. "Wait, did you say _magic?_ What's magic can I learn _please teach me_." I took a few steps forward and put my hands before me in a begging gesture.

My admittedly slightly desperate plea was cut off as Rias raised a hand. "It's late enough and I am _not_ going to spend the next hour explaining the finer points of magic to you. Ask again tomorrow and I'll see if I have enough patience. Best that you get to your house for the evening though."

The group broke up, Kiba, Akeno, and Rias all heading off in one direction towards their lodgings, while Issei complained loudly about having been teleported there and having to walk to his house. I took Kioko by the arm and had just begun to walk off towards the nearest bus stop when I heard Rias call out from behind me.

The red-haired devil shouted out, "It doesn't involve magic circuits though!"

A wide grin spread across my face as I yelled back "Nerd!"

She sputtered for a moment, before hollering across the yard, "You started it! Nerdier!" Then she stomped and walked away again, seemingly insulted.

I laughed out loud as me and Kioko started to walk again. "Haha, she gets it! Now that's a master I can be proud of!" My master was an otaku! Who would have guessed it? Now I'd have to see how many references I could fit in every conversation with her.

I was humming happily when I heard Kioko mutter something from beside me, head tucked down. I immediately leaned in closer, trying to hear. "Sorry, what was that?"

I heard it the second time. "You changed."

My hand automatically started to reach for my chest as I heard the words, but I forced it back down. "What do you mean? You didn't mention this when we talked just earlier."

She laughed bitterly. "I'm your girlfriend, that means I know you better than anyone. You were being _polite_ to her. You didn't interrupt, and you were actually listening. You didn't do that before."

I knew she was right, I'd had to stop myself from interjecting something in the conversation multiple times. But that didn't mean I'd changed, right? I ran a hand through my hair, trying to figure out how to explain it.

"She just saved my life, Kioko. I did something stupid, insulted her and her family, and then died making the enemy stronger. Even after that, she saved my life when she didn't have to. I owe her something for that, and if it's a little extra courtesy, then I can live with that."

"She saved your life before, didn't she? She revived you as one of her _pawns_? Why is it different now?" She rebutted, gaining some energy.

I didn't get why she was so worried about this, but I did my best to explain. "The first time I'd saved her other servant from death. This time I had done something dumb and even put her servants in danger. She had no reason to bring me back to life, but she did anyway."

Kioko didn't seem to think that was enough though. "So be thankful, but why change? She revived _you_ , not a faceless mook to order around. So why act any differently?"

Turning to face Kioko, I tried to look into her eyes. "Why is this so important to you? What makes you so worried?" Yeah I was being polite, but that normally wouldn't be enough to rile Kioko up this much.

My girlfriend looked into my eyes, back down at her shirt, then back up to meet my eyes. "I'm jealous." She spoke in a small voice, as if she was scared of rejection.

Before I could comment, she released her arm from mine and backed away a few steps before continuing. "I fell in love with you because I saw you save someone, and Rias just saved _you_. I was relieved the first time when you seemed the same as always, but you _changed_ this time."

She peered forward, as if looking for an answer in my eyes. I wanted to step forward and hug her, but I was still considering what she had said, suddenly reconsidering my actions from earlier in the night. _Had_ I fallen in love with her? _Had_ I changed somehow? I found that I couldn't tell. I felt the same, but was it just too early to tell?

As if she could detect my indecision, Kioko took another step back away from me before she resumed. "I don't want to be left behind. You're a devil now, and I can't change that. It's permanent. But I still want to spend every minute of it with you." There was a steely look in her eyes and I suddenly remembered what she had said earlier that night. 'I could change the world, I could raise seas, enlarge forests, I could kill cities of people.'

Before she could say another word I ran forward and embraced her in a hug, just like earlier that night. "I can't tell if I've changed because of being brought back again by Rias, or if I like her. But I know that I _love_ you, Kioko. I told you that earlier, and I say it again. I might like her, but you will always be first in my heart. If I ever leave you, please kill me, because it would be putting me out of my misery." Please, book quotes, don't fail me now!

I heard Kioko take a shaky breath, but interjected before she said a word. "Hey, you haven't met my family yet, right? Want to come over and see them?" I started pulling her along, still half-hugging her, and she didn't resist. Things had changed tonight, but I was going to hang onto this as hard as I could.

* * *

End AN: Surprise, just because you're already in a relationship doesn't make everything turn out well!

Somewhere along the line, the original plan for Kioko to be a stalwart support and for them to actually have a _good_ relationship fell apart and now it's gone all wrong _what have I done._

So you guys can probably tell from this chapter already, but I plan to wreck them even more later so I'm gonna point out a thing or two for now so that I don't get confused readers later.

No. 1: Kado doesn't love Kioko yet. I considered adding another paragraph at the end to make this clear, but it just seemed so OOC for him that scrapped it. He definitely _likes_ her, but he doesn't truly love her yet, even though he's trying to make himself believe that he does. Words are cheap and romance is slow, guys. I do hope that it works out for these guys, but I seriously have no idea except that it'll go downhill at some point and I don't know if they'll recover.

No. 2: Kioko is seriously in love with Kado. I'm not sure if I can exactly call it love, but it's the closest that Kioko knows it as. It's honestly borderline infatuation, as you might be able to tell when she mentioned that she almost killed herself. Kado kinda brushed it off since he can't really believe that someone would go that far, or just trying to deal with it some other time, but Kioko was serious. She's not yandere or anything like that, but she's not in the best mental state when it comes to Kado right now. ( _Please_ don't turn into a tragic horror story, writing.)

No. 3: I have absolutely no clue if Kado likes Rias or vice-versa. This was absolutely not in the plan, but I have no idea where this story is going to go, so even though I had planned to leave Issei's harem how it was, this could be a route it goes down at some point. I won't be trying to set up flags or anything, but I just don't know.

No. 4: Kioko isn't sure of their relationship anymore and neither is Kado. The trust is gonna start breaking down and yeah bad stuff might end up happening. (It is seriously just so _easy_ to make the DxDverse into a tragedy and I need to stop now.)

Okay, on to happier things. Death!

Hopefully I handled Kado coming back to life okay. This was a way that seemed to make some sense to me, and if it doesn't work with the canon evil piece system, I can just call the AU card on it, which does feel really cheaty actually, so if you guys can think of a more realistic idea I might be able to use it instead. Although I do already have little plot bunnies for this event that may breed and make a cute little rabbit-zoo-thing later down the line.

P.S. Isn't it just unfair that I get ideas now that I can use to improve the story later, but any ideas I have later I can't use to fix it now? Hopefully that means that the story gets better and better as time goes on, but it still bugs me.

I also hope that Rias' reason for treating Kado as she did makes sense. He really had made her upset and she's not used to losing control like that. So she tried to reign him in and show him that he couldn't be the one in control, and it was really only the situation that made it go so badly. Without the fight, they probably would have been able to get it figured out in a few days or a week without the problems that this event caused.

Final note, wingman!Issei is best Issei. I tend to really get into my characters heads, so most of the parts that I mentioned Kado crying were the parts that I seriously did start to feel tears come to my own eyes. I will confess that I didn't care much for Issei when I first started this project but had no plans to bash him. I'm liking him more and more as I read the LNs and write this though. Hopefully he'll get cool moments later too.

Please send me any questions, comments, or ideas you have!


	5. I'm Pretty Sure Kado's a Tsundere

AN: Konnichiwa, Readers-sans! (Suffixes totally become plural like that. Believe it.)

First order of business, thank you to the first guest review I have gotten! Judging by your review you probably aren't reading this, but thanks for taking the time!

And just a note that I probably won't be putting out a chapter next Monday due to it being Christmas and being in another state. So it might be two weeks until the next chapter, or I might put it up when I get back later in the week, it depends on how things go. There will also probably be a Christmas omake included in that one because that's how these things work, right?

Not a ton to get into before starting this chapter except my apology that it's so long, (assuming that's a problem?) and another reminder that _yes_ this is AU. Also that I am very very evil. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own DxD and am not 100% sure I'd want to keep it even if I did.

Edit: And derpty-derp, I forgot to mention that I changed my username. The new one is mostly because it now matches what I use on other sites, so it's easier to remember, and also because it's way cooler than the previous one. Apologies for any confusion this may have caused though. I don't see it changing again though, so hopefully this will be the one I'm known by when I'm fanfic-famous!

Yeah, gonna go laugh myself to sleep now.

* * *

The next morning I woke up in a much more peaceful manner, some heavy-duty black curtains blocking the window and ensuring I had a peaceful morning. Breathing out a sigh of relief, I sat up and got out of bed. I had been half afraid that the sun would magically burn through the drapes and still find a way to inflict cancer upon my sleeping body.

Luckily, technology had won out over nature once again! Take that, accursed forces of nature! Then I realized I was yelling at a window and shut up.

When I stepped out of my room, I wasn't surprised to see a thick morass of fishing line blocking the hallway. It traced from corner to wall to wall to everywhere else in a messy zig-zag that even a professional spy from the movies would be hard-pressed to make it through.

I was just impressed that the twins had actually taken the time to set this all up last night. Kudos to them for having a good three hours of free time, I guess.

I had just begun prying a piece of clear tape from one of the walls when I paused, getting an idea. Why dismantle the thing when I can take the _fun_ way?

I came back from my room a few seconds later with a wicked grin on my face and a pair of sharp scissors. And they said I wouldn't ever use them. Well who's cutting things now!

After making my way through the jungle of wire like a boulder after an overqualified archaeologist, I ended up in the living room overlooking what was either a tent or a giant lump of pillows. Luckily for me, I knew the truth. It was both.

After last night I had brought Kioko back home and did finally introduce her to my family. Sadly, the twins took to her like fire to something insanely flammable and almost instantly dragged her off to either scheme with her, or interrogate her for information.

One or the other, it was honestly up in the air with the twins. Mom seemed almost wary of Kioko the entire time, while dad read a book and gazed over everything out of the corner of his eye. You know, the dad thing.

Before I was hustled off to bed, I'd been able to hear the girls plans for a sleepover kind of event, complete with a tent and coverings to make sure that "Our twisted-" "-puberty-ridden-" "-big bro doesn't see anything." I'm not sure if they thought I would do it intentionally or if they were trying to protect me from any accidents. Either way their precautions seemed a tad extreme.

It seemed like I was awake before anyone else that day, even though I'd woken up at the same time as usual. A quick look at the kitchen clock told me that it was just after seven, leaving about forty-five minutes before it was time for me and the twins to leave. They were probably still asleep though, since I assumed they had kept talking until late last night. That's what girls do at sleepovers, right?

Figuring I'd better wake them up so that they could at least get ready on time, I walked across the living room floor, carefully placing my feet in the spaces between spare blankets and empty snack wrappers. When I was next to the tent, which was covered in a series of overlapping blankets and a few large pillows, I gingerly knocked on the top of it, where the poles intersected.

It didn't make much noise, but the vibration shook the tent and caused a faint rustling sound. Hopefully that would be enough to wake them up. I didn't hear any response after a minute, so I tried knocking again. This time I heard a muffled response from inside.

"Oh no, it's a monster." "What shall we do." "Save us, lady." "You're our only hope."

After a few bland lines that read like they'd come from a movie voiced by the text-to-speech lady, the door was unzipped and Kioko was pushed out, the door closing back up behind her faster than I was aware a zipper could move.

I found myself completely dumbstruck as I saw Kioko, bleary-eyed and long blonde hair uncharacteristically messy. She'd slept in her clothes since she didn't have anything else on her when I brought her to the house, yet the rumpled t-shirt and jeans somehow looked even better on her than they had pressed and clean the day before.

After a moment of simply standing outside the tent bleary-eyed, Kioko cocked her head to the side before turning and trying to find the zipper to the door. After a short while of fumbling around, she gave up and just flopped down onto the nearest cusion, immediately trying to pull as much warmth and softness from it and the surrounding pillows as possible. That… must be the most adorable thing I have ever seen in my life.

Reflexively biting back the irresistible urge to "d'awwwww" in the face of Kioko's sheer cuteness, I tiptoed over to her prone form, and leaned over the lump. Listening closely, I could hear faint snores coming from the pile.

After a moment I pulled an abandoned couch cushion onto the stripped couch and settled down to take in the peaceful atmosphere. I still couldn't wipe the large smile off my face that seemed to grow even larger each time I looked at Kioko's sleeping lump of blankets. That certainly was a series of events I wouldn't mind waking up to every morning.

Then I mentally slapped myself at the thought. Yeah it was adorable and I just wanted to pamper her for all eternity, but we were still just teenagers. Things like that could wait for a few more years.

Didn't stop the goofy smile on my face as I couldn't help but think forward to those future years though. Until a stray beam of sunlight through a far window hit my hand at least, and the immediate burning sensation reminded me that things weren't the same now.

The hollow feeling in my chest came back and my hand instantly rose to touch the area above my heart. I was a devil now, a denizen of evil and the underworld. Not to mention what I'd done the night before. Did I still deserve someone like Kioko in my life?

I quickly lowered my hand back down and put a smile on my face as I heard a door open in the hallway, mom exiting her and dad's room with a confused frown on her face from the destroyed spiderweb of fishing line still in the hallway. It turned into a smile though as she saw me and stepped into the kitchen to begin cooking. She paused to cast an eye at the tent in the middle of the adjoining room, then cemented her face into a look of determination, clenching a fist in front of her.

I knew exactly what that expression meant. She was going to try extra hard in her "Mother's Duty" this morning. My smile grew ever so slightly fixed as the pans began to come out of cupboards.

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

An hour later we were in school, slightly wet eggs safely ensconced in our stomachs. The toast had been too burnt to consume, even though the toaster should have prevented that from happening. I've learned not to question it.

During breakfast and while walking to school, Kioko seemed normal, joking and talking like usual. She made no mention of anything supernatural or what had happened last night, but I didn't know if that was a good thing or not.

If she's not talking about it, does that mean that she's avoiding the subject and still has things she hasn't worked through? Or does it mean that she's moved past it and just doesn't see any need to dwell?

Whichever it was, I couldn't really do anything unless I knew what she was thinking, so I didn't act any differently either. I knew it was just avoiding the subject, but what else could I do? If she wanted to talk about it I would, but trying to dig into it when I didn't know what she was thinking could only make it worse.

And so we split up for classes, having not really said anything of value. I actually kinda missed the conversation from last night. It was tense and scary, but we'd honestly bared our hearts to each other and said what we meant. The usual small talk just seemed so much… _less_ compared to that.

So it was with a strange sense of loss that I sat down at my desk and pulled out a notebook. I didn't have many friends in school, so it wasn't like I had anyone to seek out and talk to before class started. Honestly that was probably my fault, but I just had a hard time getting along with people in this school.

Maybe it was because it used to be an all-girls school, but the girls seemed to almost look down on the boys, or at least were scared of them. Probably at least part of that was due to the perverted trio's efforts, leaving the rest of the girls wondering if we boys would turn into drooling idiots at a moments notice.

On the boy's side, most of their conversations were about the "Great Ladies" or other conversations about the girls. Maybe it was because I already had a girlfriend, but I just couldn't deal with those kinds of topics very well.

No, even before I became friends with Kioko, it just seemed… flat, trite. Like there wasn't really anything to the discussion. They were talking about girls since that was almost what they were expected to do. And I just wanted my interactions to be more meaningful than that.

I cast away my gloominess with a final sigh as the teacher entered, trying to get ready for the day with a slightly better attitude. As others made their way to their own seats in preparation for homeroom to start, it felt like it would be another day of lectures and accursed irrational numbers. Then I felt a light tap on my shoulder and turned to see what was needed.

Ashida, seated directly behind me, leaned forward and whispered quietly. "I saw you and your girlfriend come to school together this morning. Did you two… do it?" He wriggled his pinkie in what was probably some kind of lewd gesture to accompany his words.

Even if I had, which I definitely _hadn_ _'t_ , how was it his business? There was _literally_ no reason that anybody would need to know that. Instead of answering him, I just turned back around to the front and payed attention to the teacher, who was preparing to speak, hoping that would put a stop to the topic.

It didn't. Within ten minutes I realized that his casual comment had been overheard by the people around us and my response had been completely misconstrued. The girls seated around me seemed to edge away, giving me suspicious looks, as if I was dirty or as if I would taint them with my presence. Meanwhile the few boys seemed to subtly spread it throughout the room, as if they were boasting of my 'accomplishment.'

By the time the bell had rung and homeroom was ending, I was ready to either run out of the room or stand up and berate my classmates for their stupidity. Yeah I was hurt that they had decided to judge me on one piece of faulty information, but it was mostly just a mixture of anger and pity. Is this how they lived their lives? Either trying to vicariously live through someone else or avoid them because of a rumour?

I certainly hoped that this school wasn't the standard example of students around the country, or else Japan was doomed.

Sadly, I couldn't do either option as the first class of the day of the day was starting. Math, meaning I had to focus my full attention on what the teacher was saying and hope that they would forgive my awful homework scores if I looked sincere enough. The whole thing would probably blow over by lunch when I could actually explain, anyway.

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

I think my faith in humanity just died. As soon as the bell signifying lunch rang, people starting moving, scooting chairs, vaulting desks, opening doors, people went every direction as if their only mission in life was to spread the new information. Okay, maybe that was exaggerating it somewhat, but I had the paranoid feeling that every person leaving the room was another person who would be spreading the new rumour.

I stood up abruptly from my seat, raising my voice in an attempt to get people's attention. "Excuse me! Not that it is any of your business, but to prevent any harmful rumors being spread, I have not done… _it_ with my girlfriend!" Urgh, if I can't even say the word, how can people actually expect me to perform the action!

Any stray thoughts that rose up from that train of thought were immediately squashed, chopped to pieces, and burned.

As I really should have expected, my little shameful declaration did absolutely nothing. A few boys who passed by me gave me exaggerated winks while patting my back, while the girls seemed to back even farther away, huddling together in small groups across the room and casting wide-eyed looks in my direction.

Soon I was abandoned in the center of the classroom, the boys having left and the girls all huddled on the other side of the room. Dejected, all I could do was slump down in my seat, completely defeated. By the time lunch was over, the entire school would know that me and Kioko had done unspeakably filthy things that would make medieval geisha blush, whether or not it was true.

Slumping down and letting my forehead meet the fake wood surface of my desk with a soft thump, I let out a hopeless sigh. There really wasn't anything else I could do. I'd tried to reduce the rumor but it hadn't seemed to have done a thing.

I hate this school.

Kioko was gonna kill me.

On the plus side, maybe she would forget about the whole "died-last-night" thing in her anger. Silver lining, right? I'd find out after school, since I had to do something else during lunch break. Now where was the faculty office again?

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

Since her first words after hearing my explanation were "Well at least it's better than what actually happened last night," she didn't forget. At least she hadn't taken it as badly I had expected.

When I asked why she didn't seem upset, she shrugged and explained that it didn't really hurt us and since it was already so widespread there wasn't anything that could be done. "Besides," she said, a malicious smirk on her face, "this way everyone will know better than to try and steal you away from me."

All I could do at that was laugh nervously. It wasn't like there was anybody who would have tried anyway. There wasn't any girls besides Kioko and maybe the Occult club that I was even on friendly terms with, much less any kind of budding romance.

We were on our way to the old school building for the usual meetup with Rias' peerage, but we had taken the time to sit beneath a tree and share any leftover lunch with each other, something that was somewhat of a tradition. Due to the unique nature of the breakfast we'd eaten for breakfast, neither of us had eaten much lunch, leaving plenty of leftovers.

Normally this would be a slightly more exciting process, each person trying to outdo the other with whatever lunch they had created or bought that day, but since both lunches were the same today, pre-cooked rice with vegetables, there's wasn't much of a point.

That didn't stop Kioko from still dumping half of her rice into my lunchbox and proceeding to steal half of my own with a crooked grin on her face.

We were quiet as we both ate, just enjoying the cool air and calming sounds of the leaves rustling in the wind. It was cloudy today, so I didn't have to worry about acting like a vampire either.

In the chaos that the last few days had been, starting from my death and ending with the new rumors floating around school, it was incredibly relaxing to just sit under a tree and enjoy the time together, without having to worry about murder or whatever worries might lie in the future. Indeed, everyone should periodically take time to-

"Ahem."

Unwillingly, I opened my eyes to see who it was that decided to stand in the way of mine and Kioko's relaxing time. My eyes lazily tracked upwards past a girl's school uniform until they settled on light black hair and glasses that did absolutely nothing to hide the disapproving expression in her eyes. The student council president, Souna Shitori.

I sat up as I cleared my throat, self-consciously straightening my back in order to look more polite and alert. I had met her a few times before, either at school activities or by actually being called to the student council's office, usually for not turning in homework. I wasn't actually sure if she went to classes at all since she always seemed to be in her office no matter when I was sent.

"Erm, what can I do to help you, Shitori-kaichou?" Please don't let this be about the rumor, please don't let this be about the rumor, please don't-

"I have heard some rather concerning rumors concerning you, Kai-san, and I would like to hear your side of the story before resolving any punishment."

Nervously glancing to my right for Kioko's help, I was faced with her peaceful sleeping face, her hair lightly blowing in the wind. I couldn't disturb her when she looked like that, so I stood up and brushed any stray leaves off of myself before heading just a few trees over at the president's request.

Pushing her glasses up onto her nose, Souna wasted absolutely no time. "I have had no fewer than ten girls in various states of distress coming to inform me that you have consummated your relationship with your girlfriend, Horikawa Kioko. While it is certainly not a crime, pre-marital sexual relationships are against the rules of our school. Depending on the authenticity of these reports, you may be suspended."

I only managed to resist the urge to bury my face in my hands because I was afraid Souna would take the action as a sign of guilt. Really? Ten girls worried enough about a rumor that wasn't even true that they were in "distress" at all, no matter the state? What is _wrong_ with this school!

"Those rumors are completely baseless and false, Shitori-kaichou," I spoke as evenly as I could. "It is true that Horikawa-san spent the night at my house, but only because I had brought her to meet my family and by the time they were finished talking it was too late for her to go home that night. She obtained permission from her family to spend the night and did so in a separate room from me, accompanied by my sisters."

I laid out the facts as simply as I could, hoping that she'd believe me, a known troublemaker, over the pleas of ten other students.

Yeah I was doomed.

Casting a last helpless look at Kioko's sleeping figure, I barely caught the sight of an eye closing and her mouth momentarily twitching upwards in a smirk before smoothing out again. The traitor! I would have my revenge and it would be-!

Actually no scratch that I don't dare try and retaliate. She would tear me apart in a prank war of any kind, and petty vengeance wouldn't end well either.

Souna called my attention back to her, using a finger to push up her glasses. They were already firmly ensconced on her face though, so I wasn't sure what the point of the gesture was. "It is true that none of the students had any proof of misconduct, but you could have prepared a story beforehand."

I had to restrain the urge to roll my eyes as her steely eyes snapped back to me. "Is there a member of your family that I can contact to check your story? Someone who I can be sure isn't intimidated." Was I really that untrustworthy, lady? And why not do something like this on the fifty-odd accounts of criminal acts done by actual perverts? Except Issei. He's fine.

Quickly bringing out my simple phone, I fumbled it slightly in my haste, worried that she would call the cops if I took too long. Then I speed-dialed the store and passed Souna the phone. Backing away a few steps to give her some privacy, I shot a glare at Kioko still lying motionless.

Although I had barely lifted my foot to go and give her some _words_ about loyalty, a sharp "Kai-san" rang out behind me. I flinched and slowly turned to see Souna giving me the worst glare that I had ever seen from her, eyes clearly pointing at me, then shooting intently to the ground.

I immediately plopped down, uncaring of whatever leaves or small sticks may have been beneath me. When faced with that kind of glare, you have two choices. Obey, or receive capital punishment. I wasn't sure what it was, but it was sure to be quick and permanent.

Temporarily appeased, Souna returned to her phone call, talking in a quiet enough tone that I couldn't tell what was happening in the conversation. She would believe my parents, right? It's not like she would continue to suspect me even after their testimony? Right?

My social life was doomed, wasn't it. I was going to be broke and homeless my entire life, and all because of my _treacherous girlfriend!_

Of course thoughts like that can only last so long, and by the time that she was done with the call a few minutes later, I was bored and playing with bits of grass I had casually plucked from the lawn.

As soon as I heard the click from the phone closing, I quickly brushed the grass off my fingers and uniform pants, not wanting to know what would happen if she found me "destroying school property."

Souna handed me the phone back, and I noted with a sense of relief that the disapproving look in her eye had receded somewhat. Now she saw me as a servant instead of an insect. Progress! "According to your mother's testimony, you were telling the truth. You have my apology for the mistake." Even though you're saying that, your face says something different, you know? In the end I ended up sketching a quick bow of thanks while she never bent.

As I straightened up and turned to leave, she called me again. Turning to see what it was this time, Souna said "You were innocent this time, but if I ever discover that you used your new abilities to intimidate or coerce your family or girlfriend into any actions, I will kill you myself."

Flabbergasted I couldn't help but stare for a moment. When I had recovered my senses somewhat, she had already started to walk away. "Wait a sec-"

Before I could even finish though, somebody else had intercepted her. Kioko had finally stopped pretending to be asleep, and was standing with a smile in front of the president, looking down the few inches between their heights. I forgive you for everything, Kioko!

"Good morning, Shitori-kaichou. While it is amusing to see my boyfriend react like a scared mouse in front of a tiger, I request that you retract your unfair remarks about him. They were a direct attack on his character and I wouldn't want you to leave with the wrong opinion about him."

Souna stared back easily, not at all intimidated by the difference in height. "So you were awake after all. I was prepared to erase your memory if needed, but it seems that you are already aware that Kai Kado is a devil." Please don't say such scary things so casually, president!

"Does that mean that he revealed his abilities to you? Perhaps the rumors of last night were closer to the truth than his mother is aware." She still mistrusted me that much? It did push me to wonder though, just what had happened in the past that made Souna so wary of men? Maybe she didn't have any brothers growing up? I didn't have any myself, and I'd turned out just fine, though.

Kioko had stopped smiling now, and was instead frowning at the president. "I was there when he was revived, Shitori-kaichou." Technically true, even if it was only the second time. "He has made no untoward movements towards me, and has instead stated at multiple times that he will wait until I feel that I am ready, no matter when that happens." While it's true, would you mind please not telling other people that!

Uncaring of my pleading face gazing directly at her, she continued. "Furthermore, I have seen him risk his own life to save other people, something that you could probably never consider him doing with the mental picture you have of him. Additionally, when 'healed' by Gremory-san and Himejima-san, upon waking he took steps to escape the situation. Since you are a devil and a king of your own peerage, I am sure that you know what such healing entails."

I was both proud of Kioko and embarrassed at her playing up my own deeds, but I couldn't help the smile on my face as she defended me. Sure it was supposed to be me protecting her, but this isn't a bad feeling either- wait, did she just say she was a devil? I got that she knew about the supernatural world, but she was a devil herself?

Souna still hadn't moved at all, still facing Kioko head-on. I couldn't see her face, so I didn't know what expression she was making, but she was silent for a short time before responding. "…I must confess that I do, and am surprised by his reaction to that situation. Of course I have no proof that your claims are factual. I will trust that you were previously aware of his nature, instead of having it revealed to you, though. If it is indeed as you say, then I will owe Kai-san an apology."

Again, she mentions an apology but makes no sign of giving one, this one even at a later date. Before when I had met her she seemed curt and abrupt, but fair. Was it the nature of the crime this time that gave her such a different attitude, or was she harder on devils, holding them to a higher standard because she was one herself?

After Kioko did not give a response, Souna merely gave a short brief nod and stepped around her to continue back to the school, never looking back.

Kioko clicked her tongue with a dissatisfied look as I stepped forward to join her. "I don't get why she's so popular with the people of the school if that's how she treats them, judging them unfairly."

I was upset as well, but there wasn't much point to starting a feud with the de facto head of the school. "Yeah, I get what you mean. Hopefully it's all over now though. Come on, let's get our bentos and head to the clubroom. We're already late as it is."

Indeed, by the time we had arrived at the room, most of the rest of the peerage had already left. The only two remaining were Akeno and Rias, the former humming a soft tune as she cleaned the clubroom, the latter perusing some important looking documents.

"Hi, Rias!" I called out a greeting that was mimicked by Kioko just behind me. "Everyone else already out on jobs?"

Her eyes flicked up to me as Akeno went to the mini-kitchen area in an adjacent room to prepare some tea. "Ah, yes. You're a little later than I was expecting. Anything happen?"

I wasn't completely sure if she was prying, suspicious, or merely curious, but I figured that it wouldn't hurt to tell her about Souna. A quick glance at Kioko and she nodded, so I went ahead with it. "Yeah, Shitori-senpai pulled me aside for a bit, asking about the rumors."

Rias straightened up and took on a more serious expression. "Rumors? What rumors would she need to pull you aside for?"

I guess they hadn't reached her yet, maybe since she was almost a separate existence from the rest of the school in their eyes. I took a seat on the couch and gave my thanks to Akeno as she passed me a cup of steaming brew before I started the story.

After explaining the circumstances of both the rumor and the meeting with the student council president, Rias had her head in her hands massaging her temples. "That does seem rather extreme for Sona, but I can understand why those rumors would concern her so much."

She looked up to meet my eyes. "Sona has a lot of stress as head of the school, practically running everything by herself. Additionally, she has many concerns about devils misusing their power. A tale of you taking advantage of someone using your powers would certainly rise her hackles. I shall have some words with her and try to explain what happened."

I set my empty cup down on the table and braced my hands on my knees to stand up. "Well then, hopefully you can help out with that. I believe the first step of being a servant is passing out contracts, right? Mailboxes and such?"

Rias smiled and said "Yes, nothing too difficult." She directed her next statement at Kioko. "It does usually take two to three hours, so you may go on ahead without waiting for Kai-san."

Kioko seemed to bristle slightly at being given _permission_ like that, but I gave her a reassuring look. "Yeah, it's fine, Kioko. I don't want to keep you waiting around for no reason. And it's just handing out contracts so there's no danger."

"Yeah, that's what you said last time," she replied, rolling her eyes. "Just don't forget. If you run into another stray devil or whatever, then you have a bunch of contracts to summon Rias with you, so don't hold back."

"Agreed, I would much rather protect you than do paperwork," Rias interjected.

All I could do was hang my head with a sigh. "Yeah, got it." I wished that I didn't need to be told to call for help if I ran into an enemy, but the fact was that I was just a squishy human and I needed protection. I might not have a sacred gear, but I was still gonna get stronger so I didn't need to be sheltered anymore.

After a moment, Kioko swept me up in a surprise hug that lasted longer than usual. Was this a side effect of almost losing me? If so, then maybe it wasn't that bad after all. I gently hugged her back, and when she finally released me I found myself missing her body heat.

The Kioko left the clubroom without a word, casting one last look at me before she left. I'd be fine, but I should probably see if I could do something for her soon to make up for all this.

Once the door was closed I turned to my master and was met by her grinning face and a large stack of red contract leaflets on her desk, at least two hundred.

"I have to pass out all of these?" I said, trying to figure out how I could hold all of them without dropping any. Suddenly Akeno was there next to me, holding out a cloth carrier bag with a "fufu" and a hand over her mouth.

I rolled my eyes but accepted it, quickly scooping the pamphlets into the sack without caring that the stack disintegrated in the bag. Placing down the bag for a moment, I searched for something in my pocket. "Hold on a sec, Rias." I pulled out and unfolded a piece of paper that I pushed onto the desk towards her. At the top it read in large letters "Club Enrollment Form."

"You just need to sign this and I'm a member of the club." I looked away awkwardly, recalling just a few days ago when I had made it clear that I wasn't part of the club and would stay away from it if I could.

With a teasing smile, Rias signed the paper with a flourish before placing it into a drawer of her desk. "I'll take it out and look at it if I need some positive encouragement," she promised with a wink.

"Ha ha, very funny," I mumbled as I picked up the bag filled with red paper and slung it over my shoulder. Making my way across the room, I paused with my hand on the doorknob, shooting a confident grin over my shoulder. "Be back soon, Buchou."

Then I ducked out of the room, hearing an "Ara ara~" behind me as I immediately vowed to never use the term again. It just felt odd using it to refer to Rias, when I had been calling her by name for a while. Sure it started as a kind of disrespect, but it seemed a bit late to change now.

Well, I had a job to do for now, passing out the flyers. Actually made me wonder how many people in the city at least knew about devils, and how many had accepted and used a contract. Wasn't much of a "secret world" after all, if half the city knew about it. Maybe they did something to remove the devils from their memories afterwards? I mused on it as I set out across the city, occasionally offering flyers to people passing by.

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

I felt like I was dead when I dragged myself back into the old school building five hours later, but with an empty satchel. Doors slammed in my face, rude teens, guard dogs, _people;_ it had been an awful afternoon and evening. My legs felt sore enough that you could probably use them to make pudding.

I almost cried when I reached the stairs leading to the second floor.

It had seemed like the empty feeling in my chest got worse the closer to midnight it got, something I'd suspected if it tied into my twice-devil nature, but really only had verified tonight. I still had a few hours until midnight, so hopefully I could fall asleep then and wouldn't have to worry about clawing open my chest in discomfort.

I managed to make it up the stairs and dragged myself to the door to the clubroom. The rest would probably be back now, or even gone back home, but Rias should still be around so I could still report at least. Actually, did her and Akeno sleep here? Come to think of it, I didn't know anything about Kiba or Koneko's home situation either. Did they all just stay here?

With three girls and one boy? I pitied the poor knight if that was the case. Nobody deserved that, and I was lucky to have dad as the final barrier between me and three other females.

I was considering the idea of almost every other person in the peerage being an orphan and possibly homeless as I pushed open the door to the main club area slash lounge. I was just in time to see a bright flash of red light and the figures of the rest of the peerage vanishing.

Blinking my eyes to clear the spots from my vision, I could see a red magic circle fading into nothingness on the club floor. I was stunned for a moment. They'd left without me? Wherever they'd gone, it was so important that they couldn't wait? And more importantly, I'd missed seeing _magic_?!

I was going to have some serious words with Rias when she came back. Unless she was in a bad mood or something, in which case I would respectfully get out of dodge.

Still annoyed about getting left behind, and feeling the suspicion that I had been left behind on purpose, I took out my frustration by sitting in Rias' comfy chair behind the desk, the kind that had leather padding and spun around on wheels. The kind that every office executive seemed to have just so they could lord it over all the other employees that they had a bigger paycheck than them.

No, I wasn't bitter, why do you ask?

Spinning in the chair, it was barely thirty seconds later when I saw a bright flash of red light reflect off the wall in front of me. That probably signified the peerage returning, assuming they all came back the same way they had left. I spun around to face the room, hands steepled menacingly in front of me. "I am disappointed in you- Is he alright?"

I jumped out of the soft chair and vaulted over the desk, scattering paperwork as I ran to Issei's side. My increased senses could smell blood and easily spot the growing red spot on his leg where a small circle of his pant leg had been burned away. What had happened?

Rias was already starting to yell orders, telling people to go get bandages, water, and something that sounded like unicorn root. Ignoring the fact that apparently unicorns existed as well as angels and devils, all I could do was stand there looking at the scene.

I felt helpless, just alternating staring between the cauterized wound on Issei's leg and the pained grimace on his face, tears running down his cheeks. I didn't know first aid, magical healing, potions, or even where they stored their first aid materials in the clubhouse!

I took a few steps back from the scene as Akeno and Kiba arrived with the materials they'd been sent to get and Rias quickly began applying them, keeping my eyes fixed on Issei. That's where they must have gone, to rescue him from whatever was attacking him. No wonder they didn't take you. They simply didn't have enough time to wait, or Issei might have been killed.

And because I was too weak. I suddenly wanted to punch something, a wall, the desk, Kiba, anything! I just gripped my hands into tight fists as I continued to watch, almost wishing that my palms were bleeding if it would relieve the aching in my chest. Koneko arrived with a strange plant that looked like miniature corn that was immediately applied to the wound, relaxing Issei's pained face instantly, although he was still crying.

Suddenly I couldn't stand to be in the room any longer, the shouted orders filling the air and pounding into my head, the walls closing in, my chest pulsing with pain, and the knowledge that I _couldn_ _'t do a thing_ crushing me.

So I ran. I ran across the room, practically kicked the door open and proceeded to basically fall down the stairs, my still-sore legs buckling on the first step down. Picking myself up at the bottom, slightly bruised, I started running again. Soon I was pumping my legs in the cool night air, my gaze affixed on the ground at my feet and biting my tongue so hard it bled, just to keep the stinging tears from escaping my eyes.

I didn't know if I was sad or angry, really. Seeing Issei like that hurt. That somebody had tried to kill him and I couldn't do a thing. I didn't know if I was sad at his pain, upset at his attacker, or just mad at myself for being so helpless. I just ran and hoped that I would pass out at some point so I wouldn't have to deal with it anymore.

My enhanced legs finally gave out in a park somewhere in Kuoh and I collapsed onto a grassy area. I rolled over onto my back and used my hands to grab fistfuls of the grass, as if to anchor myself to the ground. I stared up at the night sky, glittering with stars and refused to cry.

I don't know why, really, but I refused to cry. It wasn't for any real reason, just pure stubbornness. I wouldn't cry. Didn't stop the heat from gathering at the corners of my eyes or the blood from welling up in my mouth though.

Maybe I was too used to getting lucky, managing to protect people. I knew there were people that I couldn't or didn't help. So why did it hurt so much that Issei had been hurt? Was it just because he'd helped me the night before?

Or was it because I'd finally failed?

That there was finally someone I'd decided to protect that I couldn't help? I couldn't do a thing afterwards, or a thing during whatever fight Issei had been a part of.

I suddenly realized, all at once, that I was absolutely weak. Rias could one-shot almost anything, Akeno had magic, and even Koneko could hit harder than a truck. Kiba had swords, enough said.

But me? I was basically human. Useless in sunlight, barely stronger than my dad, and just handing out flyers made me barely able to stand.

My thoughts seemed to be a constant loop of how I couldn't protect them, how I was weak. I tried to take in a shaky breath but just got a load of blood in my throat.

Rolling onto my hands and knees I coughed heavily, red staining large patches of grass as I took in gasps of air. Idiot Kado, getting so wrapped up in self-pity that you can't breathe? Way to be a hero, man.

I stood up and scrubbed at my eyes with my sleeve, already feeling the cuts in my tongue beginning to heal. Yeah, so I wasn't strong. In fact, I was downright weak. But I wasn't going to let my friends be hurt again. I was going to do whatever I could to get stronger and protect them.

"Kado?"

I heard a voice from behind me and looked back to see Kioko in blue cotton pajamas and flip-flops, standing behind me with a worried expression on her face. I quickly stepped to the side to hide the patch of red grass with my shadow and put a smile on my face. "Hi, Kioko! What are you doing out so late? I was just enjoying the cool night air for a bit, you know? Feels even better as a devil!"

She took a few steps forward and her right arm started to raise up, halting only a few inches from it's position. "Kado, your… there's blood on your chin."

I hastily wiped my chin and around my mouth with my sleeve, feeling damp spots from where my tears had been absorbed into the cloth. "Really? Wow, I hadn't noticed! Ahaha, guess I must have bit my tongue or something while running. Hope nobody saw that while I was headed here and got worried over nothing." Just keep smiling. It's fine, I'm just an idiot. It's all fine.

"Kado, what's wrong." She sounded serious now, eyes striving to look into mine and I unconsciously averted them, suddenly worried about the stray particles of moisture left in them.

"Oh you know. Work was just kinda hard today. Had to pass out hundreds of flyers. By the time I finished, my legs were so sore I could barely walk!" True, although they seemed to feel better now, clearly evidenced by my standing on them. Devil healing was really great, huh? Who knows, maybe Issei would even be completely healed by tomorrow!

"So you decided to take a night run afterwards?" Kioko might be confused and worried, but she still had that sarcastic streak in her. I couldn't help but let out a short bark of laughter.

Then I couldn't stop laughing for some reason, even though it hurt so much. I doubled over holding my stomach and taking a few steps back as it continued to bubble out of me, burning through my chest.

Then Kioko was there, holding me, her arms wrapped around me and gently lowering me to my knees on the grass. My laughter subsided into a constant stream of choking hiccups instead as she comforted me, telling me that it wasn't my fault and that she'd stay with me. It seemed to rush past my ears, hearing but not comprehending as I smiled, bit my tongue, and fought the tears.

I didn't even know why I was crying or laughing, but I couldn't stop. Or why I was feeling so lost and empty. I had no right to feel that way, not when Issei was the one hurting. I was just the one who had gotten away lucky, who had ran and left behind a friend, who had worried Kioko so much. What reason did I have to be sad or happy?

I fell asleep at some point, Kioko still holding me, and my last memory before that was the sound of her soothing words and my empty chest being drowned out by the park clock striking eleven.

* * *

End AN: Couple things that are all pretty important to mention this time. Kado is not insane/whiny all of a sudden. Sona is AU. The school is weird but hopefully in an unrealistic way.

Hopefully before I get caps-locked at for how I wrote Sona, let me say first, _this was an accident_. And then I decided why not and went with it. She isn't suddenly a horrible person and she isn't having something against Kado. Well kinda, but SPOILERS.

I changed her backstory slightly and that's going to affect things, which affected other things because those butterflies are evil. So she has reasons for how she acted. I don't know if they're good answers or not, but they made sense to me. And lastly on the topic, I don't know if those reasons will be explained. I don't have a spot specifically plotted out for it in the future and it would take some pretty specific things to happen for Sona to spill the beans. So I do hope it will be mentioned at some point, but just putting it out there that it might not.

About Kado's lovely little episode at the end there, no he is not emo/angsty/self-hating. He might have some self-esteem issues as is par the course for a teenager with basically one friend, but it didn't suddenly delve way down into bottomless-pits-of-void level stuff. This is something I had planned since... last chapter, and will be explained at an already-plotted point in the future. Suffice it to say for now that something is going on and Kado hasn't changed _that_ much.

Also I left clues for this along with other plot points because I am evil.

Final thing is about the school. In the DxDverse that I'm aware of, besides the peerages and the perverted trio, the rest of the school is basically just _there_. Rumours might begin and girls might hate Issei, but basically they're there to make it a high school setting and not much else. I'm not going to suddenly name each student in the school, but they are people and react to things. At the same time, this _is_ DxD, so many of those students are very single-minded. Not to say that everyone is, but Kado's experiences tended to paint people into two groups plus him and kinda just leave it at that.

Also I've never really gone to high school per se, so I didn't want to massively mess things up. I am gonna have to face it at some point though, so this was kinda preliminary to set the groundwork for that at some point.

P.S. I have written something from Kioko's perspective a few chapters down the road, and wow do her and Kado see each other differently. It was honestly pretty shocking to see the differences, and it'll probably affect my writing with how I do them. I didn't quite have enough time to do a full edit on this chapter to match up everything, but I hope to improve their reactions in the future.


	6. Are We the Rivals in a Harem Anime Now?

AN: I have to go and socialize in 30 minutes. Please send help.

A very merry Christmas to all of you who celebrate the holiday, and while I don't have massive amounts of holiday cheer to dole out like candy canes, I do have this lacking chapter!

This chapter is very much setup. I feel bad posting it when nothing really major happens, but it's a necessary step to get to the next chapter, which I feel is going to make a bunch of you awesome people stop reading. Also lots of action-y stuff happens in it. And more the chapter after that. So consider this an early apology for the tedium of this chapter, and hope the future ones won't let you down.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Highschool DxD, it is instead owned by a different guy who I can't remember the name of. But kudos to you, original-author-man.

* * *

When I woke in my bed the next morning, I was told by my suspicious family that Kioko had dropped me off late the night before, saying that I had fallen asleep suddenly. I got The Look from my dad, slightly more energetic whisking than usual from mom, and the twins staring at me from around corners all morning.

I wasn't sure what exactly they thought had happened last night, but I decided to handle it with the tried and true method. Ignore it and take care of the problem later. Or never. Huzzah for procrastination!

I thought back over what had happened the night before as I ate barely-cooked pancakes at breakfast, ignoring the staring of my sisters. First priority was Issei and how he was doing. The only thing stopping me from calling him to find out if he was alright was the fact that I didn't have his phone number. Same thing went for anyone else in the peerage, and I doubt Rias would appreciate me using a contract to summon her just to find out if Issei had healed, even if I had any remaining from last night, which I didn't.

So I'd head into school a bit early to find out how he was doing. All I knew was that he was injured in the leg, and while I had recovered from death in a single night before, I wasn't sure if the healing speed was the same after the original resurrection.

Second priority was whatever the heck had happened to me last night. Yeah it hurt that I was weak and couldn't do anything to help Issei, but fleeing like that just wasn't my style, much less whatever had happened in the park. I might not be the epitome of manly-man, but I had dealt with my own demons and usually had a better hold on my emotions than that.

It was like I had a full-on mental breakdown for almost no reason. If that was what people with depression or anxiety felt like, I had way more respect for them now. I knew there were medications for those kinds of things, but I was pretty sure I hadn't suddenly developed one and didn't want to worry my family for nothing if I suddenly started taking anti-depressants for no reason.

So I'd just have to keep a positive attitude and try to keep from getting into a downward spiral again. Which basically led directly into priority three. I might not have been one-hundred-percent sane last night, but I was right that I needed to get more power. I didn't want to be a paper-pushing devil my entire life, so I would need to start training myself physically.

And magically. As if I could forget the fact that magic _existed_ and I had the chance to learn it? I had meant to ask Rias the day before, but had gotten distracted, so I'd make sure to ask today.

Mentally adding the topic on my to-do list I glanced up at the clock and realized I needed to leave if I was going to check on Issei before school. Shouldering my bag I shouted a goodbye to the shop and headed out past the jumbled tables of dust and old antiques.

As I walked, I realized that Kioko would still probably be planning on meeting up at the normal time so I'd need to call her and let her know. I quickly dialed her number, but my thumb simply hovered over the call button. She'd been there last night with me, had watched me break apart, or at least the tail end of it. I owed her an explanation. But I was ashamed that she'd seen the spectacle of me at my worst. I was supposed to support her, protect her. And I'd completely fallen apart. How could she trust me after that.

I hesitated for a moment longer, then bit my lip and pressed the button. After a few rings I heard it catch and a sleepy voice sounded on the other end. Had she just woken up? I couldn't help a smile I knew she couldn't see as I recalled when she had slept at my house the night before. I wonder if she looked as adorable now as she had then?

"Who is this and why shouldn't I eat you for breakfast instead of these unappetizing cheerios?" Her voice was scratchy and sounded grumpier than a dwarf. Well, it was official now. Non-morning people are the _best_.

"Good morning, Kioko!" I spoke in the cheeriest voice I could muster, elevating my voice an octave. "How are you doing today? I am doing _fantastic_ by the way! Want to be fantastic with me? We could be fantastic together!" So I'm evil, sue me. Don't act like you wouldn't have done the same, judging part of my brain.

The phone was silent for a time, before the voice came back. "I will kill you, Kado. I will murderate you, your dog, your cow, and then dance on your grave." I could just imagine her twitching eyebrow on the other side of the phone.

"Ahahaha, good morning to you Kioko!" I laughed out loud, returning my voice to the normal pitch. "But before you hang up on me, I wanted to let you know that I'll be at school a bit early today. Issei got hurt last night, so I want to check up on him."

Only silence on the other end, and I had the sneaking suspicion that she'd fallen asleep. Taking the opportunity, I went on. "And thanks for last night. I dunno what was up with me, and I won't ask how you found me just when I needed you, but it was exactly what I needed. I don't know what I would have done without you."

It sounded like a compliment, but I meant it literally. I seriously don't know what I might have done with how messed up my mental state was at the time. I had the feeling that she'd pulled me back from some kind of brink. Not wanting to dwell on it too much, I quickly wrapped up the conversation without waiting for a response. "Well, thanks again! See you at school!" before immediately hanging up.

Well, one extremely awkward phone conversation was over! I knew that I should have explained more, both about what had happened last night and about Issei's injury, but it was bad enough just thanking her for it, much less explaining what it had felt like. I was probably just going to pretend that it never happened when talking to Rias and the others.

So I did just that, walking into the clubroom a few minutes later as if I hadn't abandoned them the night before. Rias was the only one there, munching on a bag of some kind of snack. "Hi Rias! Whatcha got there? Human souls?" I inched closer, trying to get a look at the bag label. I wasn't familiar with the brand, but the bag said "Extra Cheese Potato Chips (100% Cheese)"

…Well that didn't sound insanely unhealthy or anything. How was it possible for Rias to still be so fit if this was the kind of stuff she ate?

The king shot me a bland look and held up a hand with a bright yellow potato chip before sticking it into her mouth with a crunch. The scene was so far from the image of a "perfect immortal goddess" that most of the school had of her that I almost expected her to start licking her fingers of the flavoring stuck to them. Instead so picked up a napkin and daintily wiped her fingers onto it before folding it and placing it back onto the table. So still basically nobility, but one with a taste for junk foods.

After swallowing, she spoke as she reached in the bag for another chip. "I'm assuming that you're here to find out how Issei-kun is doing?"

I gasped dramatically, taking a step back and pressing a hand to my chest. "What? How could you tell my innermost thoughts? All my evil plots will be foiled!" As dramatic as my words were, I was honestly taken aback by how quickly she could figure that out.

Rolling her eyes, she motioned to the clock on the wall, showing that it was still fifteen minutes until school. "Well you usually don't stop by, and I doubt that you came here just for me," she continued, ignoring my cry of denial, "Issei got hurt last night, and you don't really have any way to contact us. So it could be something else, but I figured that would probably be the reason. So, how did I do?"

She looked at me with a smirk, which actually looked rather intimidating, assuming I ignored the remaining crumbs on the side of her mouth. "Yeah, that's basically it," I admitted, holding in my laughter. "Thought I'd check up on him."

Rias shrugged her shoulders before fishing around for another chip-thing. "Well he did stay the night over here, but I told him that he wasn't allowed to go to school today. His leg isn't completely healed, but it's functional. I could tell that I needed some time to think instead of having teachers try to stuff his brain, so I had him take the day off. Apparently he had a friend that was allied with the attacker last night."

My mind flashed for a moment to what staying overnight for healing probably meant, before slapping myself.

"Did something happen?" Rias asked, staring at my now-red cheek. "Doesn't that hurt?"

I beamed at her and gave her a thumbs up. "Nah, I deserved it." Ah, the second thing I needed to ask! "Could I get your number? I don't have any way to contact you if something goes wrong."

Rias' smirk grew to epic proportions as she scribbled a 10-digit number on a scrap of notebook paper before handing it to me. "You do know that you just asked the most-desirable girl on campus her number and actually got it, right? Wonder what people would think if they heard that one."

Rolling my eyes, I casually accepted the number before stuffing it into my pocket. "So you're not even pretending to be modest? And I'm pretty sure most of that desirability is due to…" I waved a hand vaguely. "…You know. If they actually talked to you, I'm relatively sure that ranking would drop to a seven or something."

She lost her smirk at that, instead having an expression that was a mix between condescending and upset. "I'm not so sure about that. I'd like to think I'd be at least a five."

Ah, now the fake modesty comes out? She was trying to go along with the joke, but it works better if you don't try to improve your standing, you know. "Uhuh, sure you would be." I was just about to leave, issues resolved, when I had a sudden thought. What if the person who hurt him the night before was still around, searching for revenge? "Hey Rias, who _did_ attack Issei last night."

The king regained her seriousness, setting the bag of chips aside and wiping her fingers on the napkin one last time. "It was a stray exorcist, someone who has been kicked out of the church for various reasons. This one specifically seems to have a perverse hatred of devils."

With rising suspicion, I asked "And this stray exorcist is still alive?"

Rias nodded immediately, her face showing no regret. "I had to make a choice before defeating him or getting Issei back for immediate medical attention. Without it he could have lost his leg, or at worst his life."

Any ire I might have felt at Rias for letting the attacker get away was immediately squashed by her words. Of course getting Issei safe was the main priority. It did mean though that Issei was out there without anyone else from the peerage to protect him and with a devil-hating enemy out at large.

I'd already started heading for the door as I told Rias "Let the teachers know that I'm keeping an eye on Issei because of his injury, will you?"

I heard the king stand up from behind me. "That's really not necessary."

I waved it off casually, not looking back. "Just in case he gets attacked again, you understand. Don't want to take any chances."

"And if he is attacked, what will you do? Throw yourself in front of the blade?"

My hand paused on the doorknob and tightened, my devil strength not doing a thing to the sturdy metal. I couldn't say a thing. It was true, I was absolutely useless and wouldn't be able to do a thing. Before I could come up with some kind of excuse, Rias gave out a sigh.

"I apologize, but I wanted you to realize that fact. If I actually thought that Issei was in danger, I would have Kiba or Koneko accompanying him to keep him safe. There's no chance that the exorcist will attack so casually in broad daylight, and Kiba gave him a wound of his own last night, so he won't be fully healed yet."

My grip relaxed, but I was still upset. I knew I was weak and couldn't protect him, but did she have to keep bashing me around the head with it? I wasn't going to leave Issei or anyone else behind again when I might be able to do something.

"In the end," Rias went on, "It is your choice whether to skip school or not and how to spend your day. I will not oppose that, but I wanted you to be aware of the situation."

I was already closing the door, even as she finished talking. I wasn't angry at Rias, if anything I was angry at myself. So I wanted to do something good for the peerage and got scolded? Couldn't get any fairer than that, right? Okay, maybe I was just a little upset.

A throat cleared from my left and I spun, surprised to see Kioko casually leaning against the wall with a smirk.

"You know that doesn't actually make you look cool, right?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

The cocky expression fell from her face and she pushed away from the wall. "Oh shut up."

"Aye aye, Cap'n."

"That doesn't even make sense!" Catching her breath, Kioko leveled a stern look at me. "You're going to guard Issei, aren't you."

It was a statement, not a question, and I didn't even bother trying to refute it. "Yeah, I am. He might be attacked again, and maybe I could help."

Kioko hummed slightly and looked at me, considering. "I won't tell you that it's stupid, since you already know that. Instead, I'm coming with you."

When she started speaking I was ready to refute her, but the last statement threw me off guard. "Huh? But you don't have to do that, and you've got school."

She rolled her eyes, putting her hands in her pockets. "And you don't? You met a stray devil by going home from a date, and Issei went on a casual contract mission and got shot. There's no way I'm leaving you two trouble magnets alone."

Her part said, Kioko turned towards the stairs down and began walking. "Now come on. If we're going to catch up to him we'll need to drop by the web first."

The fizzing anger that had settled in me from my conversation with Rias slowly dissipated and I couldn't help but smile. Yeah, that was Kioko for you. I hurried to catch up to my girlfriend. "So, when exactly did you wake up this morning?"

"None of your business."

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

This would honestly be the first time I would have seen the web, and I couldn't help but be excited by the prospect. I'd heard Kioko talk about and knew the basics though. It was a ritual that Kioko had made when she was younger that was basically a map of Kuoh that showed the points where people were. She had compared it to the marauders map, but it didn't show names and it could tell the difference between different types of beings by their energy.

I had always had a mental image of it as some kind of 3D city landscape or moving painting on a wall that detailed the city and where each person was, possibly even able to be manipulated to look at different angles or underground. It would be stationed in a secret base or wooded grove, naturally, with either torches or fairy lights illuminating the surroundings.

So I was ever so slightly put out when Kioko led me to an abandoned parking lot on the west side of town and pointed to a tarp spread out on the ground.

"Here it is! Tada~" She said triumphantly, yanking off the tarp to show a sloppy chalk drawing of Kuoh, wiggly lines marking the boundary of the city and large straight lines marking Kuoh into 20 loose sections, each marked with a number. In each sector was a mass of colored dots, the vast majority being blue.

"It's very… efficient." I managed to say as I looked at Kioko, who seemed far too proud for what she had apparently created. "…out of curiosity, how old were you when you made this?"

Her smile grew even prouder. "Five, why do you ask?"

Well, that explained a lot. "Oh, no reason."

I took a closer look at the map again and saw that there were a few areas of differently colored dots. There were a few black dots mixed with blue in a far corner, a mass of red in another sector, and I noticed a series of evenly spaced out red dots that lay along the perimeter of the map.

Noticing where my attention was, Kioko took the opportunity to explain. "The blue dots are humans, as I'm sure you guessed." Then she pointed to the cluster of red dots. "And the red are devils, we know that now." I nodded, getting the picture. She'd told me previously that there was a different kind of being in our school, but didn't know that it was devils until just recently.

"And if we line that up with the map…" She reached to the same tarp used to cover the web and found a folding map that she quickly spread out to show that it was a map of the city drawn to the same scale as the web, but with much better production quality.

Adjusting the map, Kioko pointed to a section on the map that seemed to correspond to the mass of red dots. "…we get Kuoh Academy." That matched up with what Kioko had told me before, and the black dots were probably the artificial life that she mentioned as well.

"What are the devils around the border doing?" I ventured, pointing them out.

"Well, I honestly don't have a clue. I'd watched them before and they don't seem to move or invade," Kioko answered with a shrug. "They just seem to stay on the outskirts. They only arrived two years ago, same as the devils in our school, so maybe they're guards of some sort, to make sure a boundary isn't crossed?"

I suppose that made sense, but it still made me wary that there were so many devils just waiting there. And why did Rias handle the stray devils if there were a bunch of guards right outside the city? "But how does this help us find Issei?"

"Well if all the devils are at school, except for us and Issei…" she trailed off, making it obvious.

"Right, we just have to look for a stray red dot." I said, feeling stupid for not realizing it.

After a moment of poring over the map, Kioko pointed out a red dot in what lined up on the map to be in the middle of a mall, surrounded by other blue specks. The other stray red dot on the map was me, but we were relatively secluded, with only one blue dot next to me, Kioko.

As we put the tarp back over the web I asked Kioko, "So is the tarp to keep other people from seeing the web?" I was almost afraid of the answer.

She hummed slightly before responding. "Well that, and also it would get washed away if it rained, and I don't want to have to make it again."

Yeah, that's what I was worried about. Why does your magic have to be so low-tech!

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

When we arrived at the mall, Issei had moved from the original spot on the map, but he was located sitting in a fast-food place before too long. Shockingly, he wasn't alone. There was a young-looking blonde girl wearing a nun's outfit seated just across from Issei and looking at him with a smile.

I noticed the two first and pointed them out to Kioko. I'd planned to go into the diner and meet the new girl, but Kioko yanked me behind a tree before I could do more than take a few steps. "Hey, what was that for?" I asked, rubbing my arm. She obviously had a problem with actually going in to talk with them, but how come? What was wrong with talking to Issei?

"Shhh," Kioko whispered, crouching down to look around the tree. Of course there was no way that a single tree was actually hiding both of us, but a quick peek assured me that Issei was too wrapped up in his conversation to notice us or our extremely suspicious behavior. I wonder, could the nun be the friend that Rias was telling him to stay away from?

"Why?" I asked Kioko, not lowering my voice. "They're inside and aren't going to hear us unless we actually get right next to them and shout." Actually, now that the thought had entered my head, I had to resist the impulse to do just that.

The blonde-haired girl next to me paused for a moment before standing up and brushing her knees off. "Good point. Guess I got a little too much into it." I let out a quick snort of laughter at that. It was just like her. If it had gone on much longer, she probably would have started humming the Mission Impossible theme.

When she didn't elaborate on why she had decided to hide in the first place, I asked. "So why are we hiding from Issei?"

She turned to face me, bewilderment clear on her face. "You have to ask?"

"Since I just did, yes, I would assume so." Was this a girl thing? It was a girl thing, wasn't it.

"Fair point. Take a look at the two of them." I checked again and it looked like the only thing that had changed was that the pair's food had arrived. Issei looked like he was demonstrating how to eat a hamburger to the enraptured nun. Had the girl never had one before? I did have to admit that it was a cute sight when her face lit up at the first bite, as if she'd been blessed by a god of food.

"Okay, so they're happy. So what?"

She rolled her eyes, making me slightly frustrated. What wasn't I getting? And why wouldn't she tell me? "Take a look at Issei's face, will you?"

I did so, still wondering if Kioko had been possessed or something. I saw that Issei had his head tilted downwards but was keeping his gaze attentively on the nun. It actually kinda looked like they were siblings or a couple. In fact, the light made it look like there was a blush on his faaaaaaa… Oh.

I cast a questioning look back at Kioko. "Seriously? Him to her?" I rapidly pointed from Issei to the blonde girl.

She nodded, looking vaguely smug.

I checked again, just in case. "And you're sure that he's not just being a pervert like usual?" I caught a glimpse of the pervert in question using a napkin to wipe some stray ketchup off the girl's face before immediately disposing of the napkin, a peaceful smile on his face. "…Nevermind, I take it back."

"You think that's surprising? Take a look at the nun's face." Kioko was practically biting her lip in glee by now. What was it with girls and these kinds of things? I did as commanded though, and was stunned to see a smear of red, that _definitely_ wasn't ketchup, on the girl's cheeks as she beamed and thanked Issei, who responded by rubbing the back of his head and leaning on the table.

"…And he's met her what, once before?"

Kioko reaffirmed my assumption. "As far as I know. And I think he was just taking her to a church that time."

I let out a low whistle. "Wow, the guy works fast." I couldn't help but still be confused by the suddenness of it all though. "Still not sure why she would go for someone like him though."

Then I remembered just a few nights ago when he had carried me on his back and helped me with Kioko, even when he had admitted that he disliked me for having a girlfriend.

"…Actually I take that back. Are we sure she's good enough for him?" Did I need to give her the shovel talk? I'd always wanted to do that.

Kioko cast a weird look in my direction. "What's up with the sudden one-eighty?" She returned her gaze back to the laughing duo. "Anyway, it doesn't matter what we think, they seem to like each other or at least have fun with each other, so we have no reason to say otherwise. This is their business."

"Which is why we're hiding behind a tree and basically stalking them?"

"Exactly."

I'd come all the way out here to keep an eye on Issei, and while this technically qualified, I wasn't sure I wanted to spend all my time just watching him from behind like this. "And so that means that we can't go inside?"

The look Kioko sent me would have melted Mt. Fuji. "You want to ruin that?" She pointed back towards the restaurant.

Somehow in the time I'd been talking to Kioko, the nun had managed to break a ketchup package in a way that the mixture had splattered all over herself, Issei, and the table. The two were cleaning up the mess while repeatedly bursting out into fits of laughter, a store employee looking on with an unimpressed gaze.

"Point taken."

Eventually we came to an agreement. We'd meet up with the lovestruck duo just outside the restaurant, pretending that we had bumped into them by accident. Kioko had even gone the extra mile, proposing that we ask them if we could make it a double date, giving us an excuse to be around the duo. If that failed, then we would resort to the stalking idea as plan B.

It wasn't more than fifteen minutes later when Issei and the nun left the store while apologizing to the employees for the mess they had inadvertently created. Even so, their beaming faces were evidence that both had enjoyed themselves greatly. They had been so entranced by each other that neither party had even glanced out the window during the time.

So naturally it was time to crash their date. Kioko was already dragging me after the departing duo, an almost manic grin on her face. I made a mental note to never get between a girl and their romantic exploits. I promptly stacked it next to the other fifty or so notes about acting around girls in the mental-scape.

"Why hello, Hyoudou-san!" Kioko called, slowing down to a more sedate pace and slapping a look of surprise onto her face. "Fancy seeing you here!" She walked directly up to him and jokingly jabbed him with her shoulder, ignoring the shocked look on his face. "Playing hooky to spend time with a girl, are you?"

He began to splutter and wave his arms in denial, a babble of either apologies or excuses coming from his mouth. He was interrupted by the blonde nun tugging on his sleeve and asking what the pretty girl had said. Huh? Couldn't she understand Japanese? She could speak it just fine, or she wouldn't have been able to talk to Issei before. Was it an act to keep me and Kioko from interrupting them?

I was almost becoming dizzy with trying to figure it out when Issei spoke up, interrupting his embarrassed confusion at Kioko's comment. "Ah! Sorry, Horikawa-san, but Asia-san doesn't speak Japanese. She's from Italy, you see." Then he cast a glance in my direction, a small jerk of his head towards Kioko.

…Huh? Wait, hadn't Rias said something about devils being able to speak in different languages? Suddenly it all came together and I wanted to slap myself for forgetting such a critical detail. As Issei explained to the girl, Asia, that Kioko had just been asking why he was out of school, I sidled up next to a confused Kioko. Before I could explain, she had leaned in closer and spoke first. "The girl speaks Italian and I can't understand. Use your devil tongue thing and translate."

Well I guess an explanation wasn't necessary then. Ignoring the slight droop of my lips, I quickly explained that she had simply asked what Kioko had said. She slowly nodded. "Well, guess that plan's a bust then." She was about to walk off when I suddenly got the mental image of being arrested for stalking a young couple. I grabbed Kioko's arm and pasted a wide smile onto my face. "No no, this can still work. I just have to work on translating."

Turning back to the baffled couple, I bowed deeply. "My apologies, but my girlfriend had believed she had forgotten something. Luckily I had remembered to take care of previously." I wasn't sure how that would translate into Italian, but had a sudden mental image of the devil tongue being linked up to goggle translate and restrained a shudder.

My fears seemed to be unfounded though when Asia clapped her hands in joy. "Oh how wonderful!" She turned to Issei, eyes sparkling. "Isn't it stunning that two people I've met can speak Italian so fluently? It must truly be a blessing from god!"

As she spoke the last phrase I felt a sharp spike of pain in my head, like a headache, and in my chest, like my heart had spasmed. I quickly swallowed a grimace and tried to look around for whatever had caused it when I noticed Issei reacting the exact same way. The girl, Asia, seemed to have noticed as well, since she immediately bowed and apologized to Issei.

Why'd she apologize? Unless she was the attacker, but then why be remorseful?

…Don't tell me. Does someone just saying the g-word hurt devils? So unfair. Does saying satan hurt angels? Why is everything so skewed against devils? Are we just the universe's chew toys? …Actually, that might not be far off from the mark judging by the standard devil origin story.

It also meant that Asia already knew that Issei was a devil, since she apologized to him. And the _nun_ still liked him? I restrained another low whistle. I didn't know what Issei had done, but he worked _fast_.

I was interrupted from my thoughts when Kioko tugged at my sleeve, looking vaguely annoyed. "What did the girl say and why did you look like you were in pain?"

If I said anything, Asia would be able to hear it as well, so I couldn't just tell her that saying the g-word hurt devils. Luckily Asia couldn't understand Kioko pointing out that I had been hurt as well, so maybe I was still safe in my identity as a devil. She had taken easily enough to Issei, but I wasn't sure if she'd react the same way to me. After all, I hadn't helped her to a church previously.

So instead I said "She thinks it's cool I can speak Italian. I'm not used to being complimented on it, so it took me by surprise."

It clearly wasn't a sufficient explanation and Kioko raised her brow at me before turning to Issei and casually mentioning the lie we'd come up with earlier. "Well it's not like we can criticize you since we're doing the same thing." At Asia's prodding, Issei translated and Kioko waited for him to finish before she continued.

"Since we're out for the same thing, why not go together? Make it a double date?"

Issei didn't sputter out excuses like last time, instead growing slightly pale and throwing a look at Asia, noting her expectant face before relaxing slightly. He told Asia to wait a moment, then collected me and Kioko, herding us away a short distance.

"Me and Asia aren't on a date, you know?" He began, looking seriously at us. "She's barely been outside before and has no idea what a date even is probably. I'm trying to show her around because I don't know what's going to happen to her after this." He had a pained expression at that, although I didn't get it. Why was he worried about her leaving? Did she have some kind of disease or something? It would explain why she hadn't been outside before.

…Please don't be like My Lie in May, my heart can't take that kind of thing again.

This was definitely important to Issei and I could see that, so I quickly promised not to mention anything of the sort. Kioko took it a different way though, narrowing her eyes at Issei. "So you're using the girl?"

Issei looked personally insulted, and honestly I felt like he had been. "What? No! I'm just trying to show her things that she hasn't seen before! No way that I'd force or trick Asia-chan into something like that!"

Ooh, so it's Asia- _chan_ now? I kept my thoughts to myself though. I wasn't entirely sure what to believe. Issei was known around the school as a first-grade pervert and person to stay away from. Most girls would have already assumed that Issei had gotten desperate and forced someone to go on a date with him, if not worse.

But that didn't seem right to me. Yeah, Issei was a self-admitted pervert, but he had his own kind of honor, and the way he'd smiled at Asia inside the diner hadn't seemed faked in any way. I couldn't believe that he was just luring Asia into anything. I was pretty good at reading people, if I said so myself, and as far as I could tell, he was absolutely sincere.

"Hey Kioko, I think Issei's telling the truth. Asia-san looks like she's a really good friend to him, and maybe that's it." I barely managed to choke out the word friend instead of an alternative, but Issei's look of gratitude was worth it.

Of course Kioko's glare was equally condemning, and reduced the total factor back to zero. Ah, no matter what you do, it's the wrong answer. Her face almost immediately switched back to her suspicious persona, apparently appeased by my flinching back.

"Well if it's really not something nefarious, you won't mind me and Kado-kun tagging along, right?" Oh, so that was her plan. I'd applaud her scheming skills but I was too busy mentally face-palming. Sure he couldn't say no to that, but it was also as clear as day what she was after.

Issei glanced nervously back at Asia before noticing that Kioko had pulled her phone out and seemed to be playing with it. Was she trying to threaten him that she'd call the authorities? In the end he gave in and let out a large sigh. "Fine, you can come along too," he said, an obvious grimace on his face.

Kioko was immediately all smiles, her phone magically returned to her back pocket. "That's so great of you, Hyoudou-san! Letting us come with you is such a sweet thing to do." I am so sorry, Issei.

He stared at her for a moment before walking up to me and placing his hands on my shoulders, looking me square in the eye. "I changed my mind about you, Kai-san. I wish you the best of luck." …Huh? Then he gave a small bow and turned away to lead us back to Asia, who had gotten distracted trying to catch a balloon that was caught in a tree for a small boy.

She was trying to jump and catch the string of the balloon, but each jump she took was pitifully small and left her groping hand feet from the string of the balloon. She stopped and took on a pouting expression before doing what looked to be preparing to climb the tree.

Issei took in the situation and immediately rushed over, all smiles. "No need to do that, Asia! That's what I'm here for!" He quickly shrugged off his school jacket and handed it to Asia, leaving him in a red t-shirt that he had been wearing underneath. Then after a moment to secure footholds, he started up the tree like a cat, scraping his arms and smudging his shirt, but with a big smile on his face.

Asia had taken the opportunity to watch with the small boy, regularly assuring him that Issei would get his balloon back, all while never taking her eyes off the climbing boy. Oh yeah, she had it _baaaad_.

Of course this left me and Kioko simply standing by and watching, which made me feel uncomfortable that I wasn't doing anything. So I screwed up my courage and yelled out "C'mon Issei, just a little to the left!"

Both his and Kioko's heads whipped towards me, and Issei almost fell out of the tree with surprise. I swallowed the rising swell of embarrassment and called out again "You gonna stop there? You've got this!" Ugh, I was gonna die from sheer mortification.

In response, Issei somehow managed to pry one arm free of the tree without falling and gave me a quick thumbs up in exchange, before returning his arm to safety and continuing his climb.

Soon enough Asia and Kioko were calling out encouragement as well, egging him on to climb a bit faster or to do it cooler. I lost track of how many times Kioko shouted for him to do a backflip. When Issei made it back down with the red balloon gripped in his left hand only minutes later, he was welcomed back with cheers.

Issei just laughed off the thanks of the child's mother, who had apparently been searching for the child and had only found him because of the cheering. After she had left, giving a final bow of gratitude, Issei turned and ruffled the nun's hood on top of Asia's head, leaving small wood chips on top. "Nice going Asia! No way I would have done that if you hadn't tried to help that kid first."

The nun seemed to almost melt under his touch, head bowing and cheeks reddening, thanking Issei for thanking her. He just laughed it off, but the girl seemed mortified, albeit with a blissful expression on her face. I realized I was grinning from ear to ear as I watched and quickly schooled my face into a more normal expression. This was far too entertaining.

"Kioko?"

"Yeah?"

"I ship them."

"Heehee, welcome to the dark side."

Issei waved us forward, finished reducing Asia to a blushing mess, and told us that the next destination was an arcade. "Asia's never been to one before," he explained as we walked, before beginning to boast about how he was undefeated at racing games. I felt a slow smirk begin to overtake my face at that. Oh was he now? Well then, I'd just have to break his streak, wouldn't I…

* * *

End AN: Quick notes for the references I made, "goggle" = "google," "My Lie in May" = "Your Lie in April." Haven't watched the show, but it's on The List, and fanart for the show already spoiled that particular bit. Now I mainly feel obligated to watch it out of guilt for not finding out the proper way.

Not a ton in the notes except for a potential worry I have about the "girl thing" I keep mentioning in Kado's thoughts. This isn't me demeaning girls or anything, but I have learned from my own life that girls do think differently sometimes, and have given up on always trying to understand them. Kado, with his confusing sisters, silent mother, and Kioko, has already learned this for himself, and honestly believes it is safer to know when to not try and look into things further. It's a safety mechanism, basically.

The other thing is the blushing. The only time I have ever actually seen people with red cheeks is when they are warm or sick, and I'm 80% sure that blushing to show romantic affection is a lie that makes it easier to tell how someone is feeling in books and anime. But since DxD is one of those books and anime, I did use it. Ah, imagine how hard romance would be for people if they didn't have that easy radar system? Man, I'm not sure humans would survive without something to tell them exactly how much the other person liked them.

That was sarcasm, by the way.

Then last personal note, I had a story idea for something in the DxD-verse, and kinda wrote a good 2k words on just a basic outline. I don't know how that will fit in with my already kinda quirky writing schedule, but it's an intriguing enough idea that I do think I'll start writing it at some point.

For anyone who's interested, it'll be an AU with Issei as the main character, but working off the idea of "What if Azazel had been more interested in recruiting the Red Dragon Emperor?" (Hint: It doesn't go how you think it might.)

Enough self-promoting though, and I hope you guys all have a fantastic week! (And I use "guys" in the gender-neutral way.)


	7. Being a Devil Sucks

AN: Hello! How are all of you? Good? Glad to hear it. (Note: If you are not, in fact, "good," please excuse my arrogance and I hope that you have a good day.)

Alright, this is the chapter I've been worrying about for weeks. I feel like this is the big turning point and could dissuade a lot of people. If it does this for you, no problem, I hope you enjoyed the story before this.

There is a scene of, to be honest, torture at the end of the chapter. But to keep in mind my current T rating and the possibly sensitive stomachs of any readers, I really hung back on the descriptions, so hopefully it's not too bad.

I hope you enjoy, and if you have any questions or problems with the story, feel free to give a review or send me a PM.

Disclaimer: I don't own Highschool Dxd. What I do own is my OCs, and nobody can torture them except for me.

* * *

As we walked away from the arcade, Asia was giggling, I was dejected, Kioko was smiling at my loss, and Issei was infuriatingly smug. Turns out he wasn't called king of the arcade for no reason.

After solidly trouncing me at _Turbo Drivers DX000_ , he'd gone on to absolutely destroy my self-confidence at every other game in the arcade. culminating in me paying him 500 yen to get a stuffed animal for Kioko after my own attempts all ended in failure.

I was still stinging over that, while Kioko couldn't stop telling me about how nice the stuffed animal _Issei_ had given her was, a blue rabbit with an eyepatch and a vicious grin. I was pretty sure that she was annoyed at how I had lost to Issei on every machine, _including_ any games of random chance, thus proving I was the "lesser boyfriend."

So the first opportunity I got, I pulled her to the side and let her in on a little secret. That I had _let_ Issei win, since if Asia saw how cool he was by winning, she'd get closer to him. That was how it worked, right? Kioko cheered up after that and stopped talking about the rabbit as much, a blessing to my already crushed ego.

Meanwhile, I mentally crossed arcades off the list of places to take her on dates. When I told her I was letting Issei win? I was lying. He absolutely crushed me at each game, even asking me occasionally if I was taking it easy on him. My pride was probably dying in a heap somewhere back in the arcade.

The four of us stopped at the mall's main square, and Issei ran off with the flimsy excuse of needing to check on something, before soon returning with ice cream cones for the four of us, somehow managing to balance them between his fingers.

I paid him back for mine and Kioko's, but it really hit home that Issei _was_ the better boyfriend of us two. Rest in peace, Male Pride. You will be remembered.

Honestly, what did it say about me that an almost city-wide known pervert was more gentlemanly than me? I had kept an eye on Issei as much as I could during the day and I had only seen his gaze wander a few times before immediately snapping back to Asia's face. A girl that could keep him from his lecherous tendencies that not even the kendo club could knock out of him? Yeah, they needed to get together, for the safety of the school's locker rooms at least.

Asia kept thanking Issei between her bites of ice cream, lauding praises of him and the cold treat equally. "This is so incredible, Issei-kun! I didn't know that something this delicious existed!" Her face had an expression of bliss, like she'd never had anything like it before.

As I relayed what she had said to Kioko, I remembered what Issei had said earlier, that she had barely been outside before, so maybe she hadn't. "Argento-san," I began, "Have you never had ice cream before?"

Her beaming face nodded vigorously as she carefully held the cone so that nothing would drip. "Yes, before I came to Japan and met Issei-kun, I was rarely allowed to leave the church, so I never got to try anything like ice cream. I usually ate pasta or oatmeal for meals."

Hmm, that was kinda odd. I thought even nuns would be able to travel outside more often than once in 14-17 years. (Don't ask a woman her age, another note buried somewhere in the pile.) "Really? Were you sick or something like that? It's too much of a waste if you became a nun to serve god and never got to enjoy his world." Kioko said matter-of-factly, casually ignoring mine and Issei's wince. I still nodded agreement to her statement though. I honestly preferred reading than most sports or outside activities, but never going outside in that time just seemed unnecessarily strict.

For some reason after Kioko said that, Asia ducked her head and started fidgeting, casting sideways looks at me, Kioko, and Issei. After a few more steps she stopped and bowed to us, doing her best to keep her ice cream level as she did so. "I'm sorry, but could I please speak to Issei-kun in private? I apologize, but there is something I must tell him."

Kioko and I exchanged looks. Was this what we'd been hoping for? The awaited confession scene? "Yeah, that'll be fine," Kioko said, and I nodded in agreement. "We'll just be over there if you need us." She pointed towards a small area set up with a table. As we walked over, I frequently looked over my shoulder to see Issei guiding Asia to a bench and then sitting down next to her. Apparently they were just talking, but that was exactly what we wanted after all.

After me and Kioko both sat down at the table, we shared a subtle high-five beneath the table. Operation: Get Issei and Asia closer was a success.

We both finished off our ice-cream cones before too long, sitting back and enjoying the feeling of frozen sugar in our bellies. It wasn't too long though before Kioko asked "I wonder what they are talking about?"

It was pretty clear who she was talking about. I turned my head to check on the duo and saw that Asia had started crying at some point and Issei was doing his best to comfort her, although he seemed slightly wary of actually touching her, his hands hovering a few hesitant inches from her shaking shoulders. I had just begun to rise when a firm hand on my knee stopped me.

I looked over to see Kioko's eyes looking seriously at me. "Don't interfere."

I opened my mouth to protest. "But-"

She shook her head, not budging. "Asia specifically asked us to leave before she started talking to Issei. Either she asked him out and he turned her down, in which case it's not our place to interfere, or she's talking about something different that made her cry, but she still chose to send us away."

"There are more than just those two options, you know." I cocked an eyebrow at her, but sat back down. It hurt to just sit here while someone was crying, but Kioko was right. This was something between Issei and Asia, we had no part in it. Of course I was tempted to saw that I didn't care and rush in to try and help anyway, but that would just make things worse. And I _had_ learned from my attempt to guard Vaizor.

I stared down at my hands and tried to relax them from the fists that they had curled themselves into. Once I was calmer, I looked back at Asia. Issei had grabbed her hands and was looking into her eyes. I didn't see a blush on her face this time, but couldn't see if she was still crying or not. That eased my conscious somewhat, knowing that Issei was at least willing to help her.

Suddenly, Kioko stood up and forcefully grabbed my hand. "I thought we weren't going to go back over?" I inquired, wondering why she acted so suddenly.

"We need to get some distance," Kioko said. "We're still too close."

A quick glance verified that nothing had really changed, but it was obviously a very personal moment that we were intruding on. "Yeah, I guess so."

I let her pull me farther across the square towards the exit of the mall area, where there was another bench that I assumed we would stop at. Instead she continued to pull me past it to the exit. "Hey Kioko, isn't this a little too far? What if they want to call us back and they can't find us?" I could still see their forms behind the scattered trees, but just barely and they would definitely lose us if we left the area.

"We're still too close."

Huh? That didn't quite sound like Kioko. I stopped and freed my hand from her grip. "Wait a second, what's up? Is this one of those girl things that I'm not supposed to ask questions about?" If it was, I was already doomed.

Kioko stopped almost immediately after I got my hand free and turned to me, an annoyed look on her face. "Come on, Kado. We need to get more distance."

Something still seemed off, but that annoyed expression was one-hundred-percent Kioko, so I followed behind her as she began walking again, casting another look back behind me to catch a final glimpse of Issei before we left them behind. I hope they'll be able to find us once they're done, since they seemed too wrapped up in their conversation to notice us leaving.

Turning back towards Kioko, I was met face-on by a thin face staring directly at my own with slanted blue eyes. I involuntarily let out a "gak" of surprise, but the older man attached to the face just blinked at me and stepped to the side so I could proceed.

As he did so I got a better view of him. He was wearing a long brown coat that was fully closed in the front and had long black hair done up in a messy ponytail behind his head. I bowed and let out a quick apology before hurrying after Kioko who was still walking away, barely catching sight of the large cross stitched onto the back of his coat as he turned away.

I heard him muttering something as I ran off, probably something about kids not watching where they were going. When I caught up to Kioko she was still walking quickly, facing straight ahead. "Come on, Kioko, this has to be far enough. Where are you going?"

"We're still too close."

"Too close to what! We've lost sight of them by now!" I was about ready to throw up my arms in exasperation when I heard a voice call out from behind me.

"Hey kid!" I turned to see that it was the same brown-coat guy from before. I pointed a questioning finger at myself at he nodded. "Yeah, you. Can you see me?"

Well that certainly set off alarm bells in my head. If he had to ask that, there was something going on with this guy, some reason that I shouldn't be able to see him. I risked a glance back at Kioko and saw her still walking off to who knows where. I didn't have time to deal with an additional supernatural problem.

I didn't say anything and just started walking away from the man, hoping that he'd ignore me. Unfortunately he didn't.

"Too late for that, kid."

I turned to see him drawing an elaborate gun marked with a cross from a deep side pocket on his coat and leveling it at me. "I don't like hurting kids, but you've only got once chance before I shoot you. Stay where you're at and don't make any movements or I'm going to put a hole through your little devil brain."

…Well at least he was a gentleman about it. I froze in place and slowly let my hands raise up from my sides until they were over my head. "Is my girlfriend going to be okay?"

He looked surprised at that, before letting out a bark of laughter. His aim didn't waver while he did so though. "A devil with a human girlfriend? Well that's new. Relax, she'll be fine. She's just getting away from the danger zone. We're not _monsters_." Clearly, he believed that I was one.

I let out a sigh of relief at that, making sure it was easy enough to see it. He recognized that I was young, so maybe I could let him relax his guard if I was careful enough? I was too far away from him to attack directly, about five meters, and had no ranged attacks. He had a gun on me and if the cross on the back of his coat meant anything, he was one of the exorcists that Rias had warned me about.

Actually calling me a devil was a pretty big clue, all things considered. My mind was whirring, trying to piece together a way to get out of this. The exorcist had mentioned a danger zone, and I could only assume it was back in the mall area that we'd just left. And I already knew that there was an exorcist who had targeted Issei. This guy probably wasn't the same one, since he'd mentioned not wanting to hurt kids, so there must be at least two working together trying to kill Issei.

So I needed to handle this guy and then head back in to save Issei. Which put me right back at square one, how to take out someone at least twenty years my senior who had a gun and experience fighting devils.

As I tried to think of a way out, a few more straggling bystanders exited through the arch and wandered past me and the exorcist, paying him no mind and only enough to me to move out of the way before carrying on. The effect was probably some kind of spell, one to lure people away from the square and make them ignore the exorcist.

Looking back at the man in question, he still had his gaze fixed on me, although occasionally one eye would roam around briefly before snapping back to me. Checking for anyone else acting oddly in case he had to deal with them too, most likely. He seemed perfectly fine to just stand and threaten me with a gun in silence, but my arms were getting tired and holding them up would just weaken them if I ended up having to fight him.

The goal was to get past him and back into the mall area. I could achieve that by either fighting the exorcist or fleeing past him, but I'd have to do it without getting hurt. I was practically defenseless and had no way to hurt the exorcist.

…Well my mother had always said that I was far too good at talking for my own good. He seemed too experienced to be taunted, and that would only end badly for me anyway, but he seemed hesitant to attack so maybe I could use that. "Can I put my hands down? They're starting to get tired."

His roaming eye had snapped back to me as soon as I took in a breath to begin speaking, but he held off on launching a bullet into my brain, something I was extremely grateful for.

He spoke without moving a muscle. Besides the ones in his mouth, for obvious reasons. "Sure, but if I see any kind of weapon or magic I won't hesitate."

Were devils really that scary? Vaizor and the lightning-lady didn't seem to have been tough enough to warrant this level of caution, honestly. Wait, both of those people killed me with absolute ease. Bad example. "Relax man, I was just on a date, why would I bring any weapons, even if I did have any."

He lightly shrugged his shoulders, his aim still unwavering. Just how good was this guy? "I've been almost killed far too many times to believe in taking chances."

Ouch. Couldn't argue with that. He at least moved that time, so maybe I was making progress. "Fair point. It's a little odd talking to somebody like this without exchanging names. I'm Kai Kado, what's yours?"

I heard him mutter something that sounded suspiciously like "kids these days" before actually responding. "It's not weird at all, that's bad grammar, and if you're trying to make me feel guilty about killing you, it won't work. And you don't need to know my name, _devil_."

Drat, I'd thought that would have at least worked a little bit. "Woah, relax!" I held up my hands in a sign of surrender, before realizing that I'd basically already done that and slowly lowered them. "It's not like I'm gonna use your name to do some kind of demonic ritual or anything." I cocked my head to the side with a confused expression. "Wait, can devils do that?"

He sighed but responded, his trigger finger loosening slightly from the tight grip it had held before. "Devils can't use people's names to control them in any way, that's an old wives tale. But I have no reason to give you my name."

"Oh yeah, what about manners?" I shot back. "I told you mine first, after all." It was really hard not making hand gestures while talking, but I would rather not do something to set him off by accident.

"I'm pointing a gun at your head. I think we're a little past bad manners right now." he said dryly. Hey, he did have a sense of humor! And enough peace of mind to make a joke! Maybe this could work after all.

"Well there's no need to be _savages_ about it," I huffed. I would have folded my arms too, but again, better safe than sorry. "How long have you been doing this kind of thing anyway? You know, killing devils." Pave the way…

I noticed his jaw muscles tensed at the question before relaxing quickly. Was that a bad question to ask? He rolled his eyes right afterwards though, so maybe not. "Probably far longer than you've been alive and a devil."

…And sink the shot. "Well that would be easy then. I've only been a devil for about four days."

The exorcist did what would have been a spit-take if he was drinking water, but instead just ended up sounding like he was choking on something. His arms dipped down as he coughed, the gun aimed somewhere just below the belt. Didn't quite feel safe enough to risk moving right then, just in case he had a twitchy trigger finger and I lost something incredibly precious.

After he recovered, he looked at me with wide eyes. "Only four days! You're a reincarnated devil?" His arms had already started to relax from the gunning posture, though I wasn't sure if he even realized it.

"Yep," I said, with a sense of satisfaction. "Got no sacred gear, haven't learned any magic, no weapons, I'm a _pawn_ and when I'm trying to go on a date with my girlfriend to get some sense of normality back, I get _held up by an exorcist!_ " I was seriously yelling the last part, fists clenched and a few specks of spittle escaping my mouth. The heads of the last bystanders leaving the area all swiveled to look at me, but almost immediately regained the same blurred look in their eyes and resumed their exodus again.

I wasn't lying about how annoying it was to get held up like this. Issei and Asia were probably already getting attacked in there by the other exorcist and I was getting held up just outside of range to help! Literally.

The exorcists eyes went wide, then got a conflicted look in them as he chewed on his lip. His eyes found me again, and I got the feeling that I had just pulled it off. "So if I let you go, just hypothetically, what would you do?"

 _Yeeeeessssssss-_ _"If_ you did, hypothetically," I said with a hopeful face, "then I'd run after my girlfriend so she doesn't wonder if I've gotten mugged when she makes it to the safe area. Maybe I can at least end the day on a good note."

The exorcist chewed his lip for another long minute before he asked again "And you're not going to try running back in there?"

The chances of me not heading back in were about as good as the chances of me getting a hundred on a math quiz. "Of course not," I said, with as honest a face as I could. "I probably don't even know the guy in there."

At that, the exorcist put his gun back into the pocket of coat and folded his arms, turning his back on me. "Go on then, Kai-san. I'll just tell them that you slipped by me."

"Thank you, Exorcist-san." And I'm sorry.

I took off down the path as fast as I could, hoping to slip by him and back into the square before he could react. I had taken exactly two steps when I realized that my left foot didn't hit the ground as it should have.

"Huh?" A noise of surprise slipped from my mouth as I began to fall. I hit hard, completely unbalanced. I'd managed to instinctively turn my body so I hit with my side instead of skidding on my face, but it still tore my uniform and left deep scratches all along my left arm from the slightly rough stones of the path.

I stared blankly at the ground for a moment. Why hadn't I ran properly? Had the exorcist done someth-

A fiery feeling sprang up from my left ankle, a thousand tendrils that I could feel as they ran upwards through my veins and nerves, spreading their toxic heat through my leg. " _Aaaaaagghh-_ " I forcefully bit my lip to keep from screaming and curled into a ball, trying to grab my foot and remove whatever was causing it pain.

My groping fingers felt a deep depression beneath the cuff of my uniform pants, something wet and sticky inside it. I already knew what it must be, but I pulled my hand in front of my face and cracked open my eyes. My fingers were dyed red.

"Oi, devil." I looked up, craning my neck to see the exorcist's face, meters above my own. I could tell he was looking down at me but the glare of the sun hid his expression. Then he bent over and I could see it clearly. I felt an instinctive burst of fear ignite in my chest and recoiled back as far as I could, heedless of the hole in my ankle.

His expression was perfectly blank, the conflicted expression and laughing eyes gone without a trace. In their place were eyes that weren't dead, like the rest of his expression. Instead they were cold and filled with utter apathy for me. I couldn't hurt him, and even if I could, he simply wouldn't care. I was less than the cobblestones beneath. Something he would walk over without pausing.

"You need to work on your lies." The demon said, expression unchanging. "You'll never survive like this." Then he pointed his hand, gun still held in it, towards the abandoned gate, any bystanders gone by the time he had acted. I hadn't been stalling him, _he_ had been stalling _me_. "Go on and save your friend, then." He spoke the words in the same monotone he had the others, but I could almost sense a vague undercurrent of anger as he said the word "friend."

Then he walked off, the gun held in his hand disappearing within one step and the next as he passed my curled-up body, with no sign of when he put it away.

I simply held there as the pain faded, or more accurately, I got used to it. Anything will hurt at first, but we humans are good at adapting. It still hurt, feeling like writhing wires in my leg, but I could move again. And I had a friend to save.

I unrolled from my position and, gritting my teeth, stood again. Good news about the massive amounts of pain caused by holy light, I couldn't even feel the additional pain that was probably caused by trying to walk on a foot with a hole through it. Normally people would avoid doing anything with a wounded limb because the pain would keep them from moving it, but if the pain was the same no matter what I did, what did I have to lose?

As I hobbled forward I pulled out my phone and the small piece of paper I had received earlier. "Come one, come on…" I pressed the buttons as fast as I could, using the other hand to keep my upright on whatever surfaces were nearby.

I put the phone to my ear and listened to the usual dial tone, but when it connected, all I got was a recorded instruction to leave a message. "Tch." I stuffed the phone back into my pocket and continued limping along. I'd just have to do this alone then.

Running was far beyond me, but I was able to limp forward and through the gate. On the other side was an abandoned mall center except for three figures close to the center. One was a boy with brown hair and a school uniform. Just behind him was a nun. And in front, an unknown girl with black hair. The other exorcist.

I moved forward as fast as I could, my steps slowly gaining confidence. I had to try and help. But before I had crossed even half of the distance, the exorcist held out her hand and a spear of pink light manifested. Must be another weapon like the light guns. I realized that my thoughts were wandering and she was about to _stab Issei!_ Focus, Kado!

I had just opened my mouth to shout out something, anything, when she thrust the spear forward, even though she was too far for it to reach Issei. Then it seemed to vanish and there was a spear sticking out of Issei's stomach as he doubled over from the impact.

My tongue was stuck in my throat, but even as I watched and the exorcist laughed, the spear seemed to shrink in size and Issei stood straight once more, unharmed.

…I have no idea what just happened, but it was good, right? I didn't know if he could do it again though, so I swallowed, licked my lips, and yelled out "Hey, Idiot! What are you doing taking all the glory for yourself? I thought we'd agreed to deal with her together!"

Issei's head snapped up and a stricken look crossed his face. I could barely hear his "Kai-san!?" from where I was. Still too far away. It had gotten the black-haired girl's attention, though. "What, another filthy devil come to die?"

Wow. Even though the last guy was still a jerk and scary as Maou, I still liked him over this girl. I did the best I could to even my gait and pretend that I wasn't functionally useless.

Bluff bluff bluff or die. An easy choice. If that failed, then maybe I could cause a distraction and Issei could use his sacred gear to take her out. It doubled his power, and a haymaker doubled could probably knock a human unconscious.

"Nah, I'm actually here to tell you that your taxes are overdue. The interest's practically _doubled_ in the time you missed." Come on Issei, notice it…

"Was that supposed to be a code?" The girl laughed, cruel and sharp enough to scratch my eardrums. "As if a bottom-class sacred gear like a _Twice Critical_ could harm me."

Well that failed then. I finally neared the group and slowed to a stop right next to Issei. I glanced down and could see that there was a hole and blood on his uniform, but clean skin beneath. The wound was healed all right.

Then I looked up and finally saw the exorcist in clear detail. Silky black hair and pure violet eyes. A perfectly proportioned body hidden by a barely too-small school uniform. So naturally I said the first thing that popped into my brain. "Wow, you are _ugly!_ " Let it be said that in-pain Kado is _very_ bad at thinking before speaking.

Her face froze in place as I heard a gasp from behind me at the same time that Issei smacked me over the head. "How can you call a beauty like her ugly, Kai-san! Clearly she has the body of a goddess!"

I shot a glare back at him, but was glad that he didn't seem nearly as terrified as before. Still scared, but that was normal in this situation. "Well maybe, but who cares about how she looks? I'm talking about her character, obviously."

It was true. I could see the hatred in her eyes, a seething anger at us and anything else, blaming the world for something that had happened to her. She was the type that would stamp out every ant on the pavement and take glee in their deaths. She looked down on everything else, but not because she had confidence or even arrogance. It was because if she didn't, she'd admit that she was no better than us, the ones who had hurt her by existing.

"It's true, isn't it." I turned to the exorcist and looked her in the seething eyes. "You're scared of us." If we were better, if she fell to our level, then she would have to admit that she was wrong. That she had hated the world for nothing and lived her life wrongly. That if we were strong, if we were capable, if we were even _human_ , she would lose everything.

Mentally comparing her eyes to the male exorcist's, hers were nothing. Hatred I could deal with no problem.

Those eyes went wide in shock and the exorcist took a step back, and I could clearly see the fear in her eyes. Then she let out a roar of rage and shot barreled forward, an instantly manifested light spear digging deep into my stomach as she yelled into my ear. "You're wrong! You are below me, you are nothing, I am _supreme!_ "

As the tendrils of light poisoning began to snake outwards from the fatal wound, I coughed out a mouthful of blood and smiled through stained teeth. "Denial ain't just a river, lady."

With another cry of rage she kicked me off her spear and let me fall onto the ground, head rattling. My vision came back into focus just in time to see her throw Issei to the side as if he was nothing, her eyes affixed on me. "Heal it," she growled out, and I heard shuffling sounds. Then a green glow began to pool around my stomach as Asia kneeled next to me, her hands outstretched and two elaborate rings upon her middle fingers.

I watched as the hole in my stomach healed and even the burning feeling of light poisoning disappeared, seeming to absorb even the blood back into my body except for that which was already soaked into my clothes. Oh, so that's how Issei healed.

Taking a breath of relief, I opened my mouth to thank Asia, but instead let out a gasp of pain as a pink spear of light buried itself into my right elbow, Asia letting out a scream of fear as it missed her by inches. I gritted my teeth and bore through the pain as I glared up into those violet orbs burning with hatred. The spear rotated, burning further nerves as the now-familiar feeling of light energy began to rise up.

Then the spear was plucked out once more and those ugly lips spat out "Heal it." The green glow began again, the pain fading. Moments afterwards a spear buried itself into my thigh, quickly followed by three more. They were removed, the command was given, and the green glow returned.

I was starting to lose my sense of reasoning as the torture continued, barely holding it together enough to hope that Issei had escaped and to keep glaring at the exorcist. I would not let someone like _her_ break me.

It became a game between us, her trying to inflict pain, to break me, and I trying to resist, to stay defiant. After I don't know how many minutes and an endless number of impalements, I felt something on my face as the green glow (What was her name?) healed my eye. A faint feeling of impact that seemed to linger and trail down my face.

Somehow I remembered what that should mean and parted my bleeding lips that were already being healed. "Why are you-" I paused as another spear impaled my index finger and resisted the feeling of pain. "-crying?"

The green glow didn't respond, but I heard a sob before the green glow moved to my hand and began healing it, a brief reprieve before the next game started.

I forgot about that immediately afterwards, my world consisting of pain, the green glow, and my glare burying themselves into those violent circles. They weren't glaring back, they weren't looking away, they were looking almost desperately into my own restored eyes, looking for any sign of submission. They found none.

She unleashed a scream, a scream of frustration, pain, loss, and pure hatred. The spears rained down, no longer waiting for the previous wound to be touched by the green glow. He was wrong. He was _wrongwrongwrongwrong-_

Because if he was right, then _she_ was wrong.

Pain and poisonous tendrils invaded all throughout my body. The only place seemingly unaffected was a small point, less than an inch thick, in the center of my chest. Any seeking marks of light that attempted to cross the area vanished immediately before returning on the other side of the point. It was a sensation of peace and I focused on it, riveting my sensation upon that one dot free from the burning-twisting-screaming feeling.

I didn't realize when a red glow lit up the surrounding area or when the rest of the peerage arrived. All I had was a moment of clarity when the purple holes that dominated my world disappeared, replaced by a harsh blue sky mostly blocked by sickly green leaves. I saw a nauseatingly pink ray stabbing down at the body, but my vision was blocked by a gleam of smoky steel and harsh sparks that absorbed the pink light. Then the green glow left, having barely finished sealing the wounds.

With the pain, the green glow, and the purple eyes gone, I had nothing else anchoring me. I withdrew from the blank spot, my full consciousness returning to my body. Everything seemed to come rushing back to me at that moment and my limbs spasmed, before dropping my consciousness down a deep empty well into darkness.

* * *

End AN: 500 yen is about $4.45 and is enough for five tries in a crane machine, by my research. Fun fact, Issei only needed two tries.

Deep breath in, deep breath out. Here we go.

Hope that wasn't too bad, but I'm still not quite sure what to think of the whole chapter. I'll go over a few things anyway, though.

It kinda bugs me how close I ended up sticking to canon here, but Asia pulling Issei aside to explain her backstory like in the LN gave an excuse for Kioko and Kado to be off on the side without too much fuss, and also is something that needed to happen, so I just stuck with it. The situation still seems forced to me, like it came out of nowhere, but Asia would be hesitant about using Twilight Healing around an unknown devil, and Issei wouldn't want to discuss it either.

Something that I wanted to mention in the story but couldn't really find a place for it, is that Issei was knocked unconscious by Raynare throwing him, and stayed that way until after the peerage arrived. It doesn't directly mess with the storyline, but it's just something I wanted to mention.

Raynare's reaction is probably over-the-top. She has a severe hatred of humans and low-ranked devils and -well, basically everything, in the LNs, and Kado kinda tore that right open. Then how he made her doubt her own superiority, which is something she's been relying on for most of her life. The short term, she goes into a sadistic rampage basically, but the tricky part is the long-term consequences, and I still feel like I don't have a good enough grasp on those yet. If you guys have any suggestions of what would be realistic, please let me know.

Finally, since I'm trying to keep this somewhat short, is the newest OC I included in this one. I'm trying to keep this from becoming a story entirely overrun by OCs, but the idea I had for the one-shot grunt ended up expanding into a character that I had way too much fun with, so he'll be coming back later. Another reason why I included him is to show that _this_ is what devils fear about exorcists. The exorcist is a normal human, no sacred gear or anything like that, but not only did he survive for decades against devils, he also survived the church after he became a stray. His acting skills might not help him much against the more experienced or vicious devils, but there's a reason that this man has survived so long.

Sorry that run a little long, but I did get really excited about this character. (I even wrote a backstory and everything!)

Hope you guys are still interested in the story, and next chapter will be a series of interludes! (Including one from Kioko's perspective!) Stay tuned! (If you want, I mean. You don't have to or anything. I-It's not like I wrote it for you or anything! B-Baka.)


	8. I'm Sure That's Perfectly Normal

AN: Yo.

...

Well anyway, this chapter is one I've been waiting on for weeks. Basically since I got it written. And yeah, I guess all of my chapters are like that, but _this_ one especially!

I dunno what it is, whether I secretly really dislike Kado or something, but it was just so fun to write this chapter, which is the interlude chapter! (Also a section from Kado in there.) I tried to give each interlude a different feel from the rest, something to match the POV character, and hopefully that carried across well enough. I don't think there's any warnings or anything for this chapter, so I'll quit wasting your time and let you go ahead and get to reading.

Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: If the author of Highschool DxD, who is not me, ever saw this, I'm pretty sure he would recoil in abject horror at the monstrosity I have created. I would also give him kudos on his English.

* * *

 _It was beautiful._

 _I could_ _"feel" myself like nothing before, each inch of my false skin, each "beat" of my heart like a symphony that thrummed through each bone and muscle, never repeating. It made everything else feel so… empty._

 _Looking around, I was surrounded by a bright red that made me think of blood or Rias' hair. That was actually a rather unfortunate hair color to have, wasn't it? "Your hair looks like blood!" probably doesn't go over too well…_

 _Regardless, I seemed to be inside a featureless sphere the size of a small room. Even though each surface was perfectly smooth and curved, I had no problem_ _"standing" on any surface including the ceiling of the sphere. Not that it really had one since it was perfectly round, but I called it the ceiling, so that made it the ceiling by default._

 _It felt like it would be tainting the pure perfection by touching it, even if my body wasn_ _'t actually real, so I just hovered in what I could somehow tell was the exact center of the sphere._

 _And what only seemed to add to the wonder of the scene was the ribbons of light that flickered across the inner surface like a flowing stream. I have no idea where I am, but this is seriously cool. It was kinda odd how I didn_ _'t seem to feel any desire to leave though._

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

Seated on the edge of a rooftop, the Exorcist gazed down at the scene below, an open bible laying ignored in his lap. "For this is the duty of god's watchmen."

The young devil limping into the square, ignoring the pain of holy light and a hole in his ankle to keep moving. The Exorcist created the ghost of a smirk that flickered across his face for a moment. "To guide the lost sheep."

The boy paused as his friend was stabbed, a look of horror on his face. Then he put on a fake smile and stepped forward, taunting the fallen angel that was the Exorcist's employer. "To free them from their lies."

He hastened forward to stand by his friend, subtly putting his body in front of him. No, the boy didn't even realize he was doing it, complete instinct. Admirable, even if it was stupid. "To lead them from their faults."

Then the boy said something to make Raynare actually step back, a look of terror thinly disguised on her face. What could the boy have said to cause that? Whatever it was, it was the wrong move. The kid had been telling the truth when he said he wasn't powerful, even that he'd only been a devil for four days. The kid certainly had guts, that was for certain.

But that wouldn't help him here. Raynare only had one way of responding to fear, like a trained dog. She would hurt it, prove that she was superior to the feeling, superior to everything. And a powerless devil was an all too easy target. "To shield them from the darkness."

Raynare was on him in an instant, spear manifested and already plunging into his vulnerable stomach. The boy didn't even react before it was too late. He'd have to work on that, if he survived. People lived and died on their reflexes in this world. "To teach them to know thy doctrine."

The other boy, his devil friend, tried to attack, a Twice Critical appearing on his arm, but he was ruthlessly tossed away, impacting his head on a tree harshly. He didn't get back up. After a command from the fallen angel, the young nun began to heal the victim, repairing the wound in his stomach. "To bind up their wounds."

The exorcist watched dispassionately as the boy was repeatedly impaled in more and more creative ways, each spear a new attempt at causing his spirit to break, to cause as much pain as possible. But her attempt seemed doomed to failure, each attack becoming more frenzied, clearly not reaching the result she desired.

"To comfort them in their sorrows." The blonde girl, weeping as she sealed skin, set bone, reconnected muscle, using her own energy to do so time after time.

"To protect them at all costs." The boy lying on the cobblestones, enduring the pain without releasing a single scream.

"To stand firm in thy path." The woman stabbing the devil, taking glee in how he twitched or tensed up in reaction to her vicious attacks.

"And to stand as a witness for thee at all times." The Exorcist, sitting at the top of a building, an altered bible in his lap. Entire pages scrubbed free of ink visible as the wind turned the pages, the few sections of black text standing out in stark contrast.

"For this is the duty that we have chosen." A red flash as the remainder of the peerage arrived, the knight leaping forward with a manifested sword to block the blow that would have ended the young devil's life.

"Personal addendum A." Raynare backed off with a wordless scream, enveloping the twilight healing child with her wings as she vanished, a teleportation spell the Exorcist had prepared earlier being activated.

"For this is the duty that I have chosen." The Exorcist pocketed the bible before standing up and dusting off his long coat, uncaring of the hundred foot drop mere inches away. Below him the devils gathered around their fallen member, the worry too clear on their faces.

"To watch the watchmen." Then he stepped away from the edge and walked over to the circle that he had prepared an hour previously, scrubbing at the edges with his foot until the chalk was blurred. One good downpour would clear away any evidence to the supernaturally unaware and it didn't matter if the devils found it.

The Exorcist spoke into the empty air, his voice barely carrying past his ears. "You are very lucky you did not manage to kill the boy, Raynare.

"If you had, I would have needed to kill you."

Then he shrugged, a flicker of a smile crossing his face again. "Ah heaven, I might anyway. I suppose I've taken a liking to the kid."

"Amen." And as the Exorcist spoke the final word, he heard a chorus of voices chiming it with him, just like they always did.

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

 _The ribbons of light were in every color I could imagine, and some that I couldn_ _'t. Black, blue, green, purple, white, and one that my new senses "said" was Elmarill, just to name a few. Whatever the heck Elmarill was._

 _Huh. Apparently it was a hug in the rain, a crushed rose, a closed door with chipped paint, a long night alone and hungry, a smile while crying, an invisible scar that never healed. That was actually pretty heartbreaking, for some reason._

 _The ribbons ran around the sphere in loops, spirals, linear lines, and at least one was spelling out something in a different language._

 _They ranged all around the sphere and left no area untouched, except for one small patch that I could_ _"detect" that they avoided. It was always directly in front of me no matter where I "looked," a section of the sphere that bulged inward, a depression._

 _I couldn_ _'t tell how large or small it was, since each time I tried to estimate the dimensions, it shifted and blurred it's edges, eating up half the sphere or shrinking into the size of a buttonhole._

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

The church that we were using as a base was run-down, the pews dusty and stained by rain, but the statues and crosses so carefully chiseled years before still stood upright and strong, giving a sense of peace and mercy.

I hated them.

I would have already melted the bunch of them into puddles of molten _peace_ and kicked it around for fun, but the mercenary exorcist that Raynare had recruited had insisted that we keep them pristine.

What was the point of being a stray exorcist if you still believed in god and the church! I'd thought he was joking around at first, but had gotten a gun barrel shoved up my throat the moment I produced a light spear. Who the Sandalphon does that anyway! And then the uppity priest had dared to say that he'd pull the trigger the next time I tried!'

Oh how I dreamed about ripping him apart and showing him just who he had been messing with. Only after I'd paid him back for everything he'd said of course, starting from his toes and working up-

"Uh-oh~, you're doing it again, Don."

A teasing voice trilled out from behind me and I snapped to attention, old habits still not quite dead. "Sorry Ma'am!" I cursed myself even as it let slip. She'd told me she hated it when I called her that.

Kalwarner waved it off with a roll of her eyes, walking up and lightly chopping me on the head with a hand. "Relax, Don. I keep telling you I'm not your sergeant anymore."

I bit my tongue to swallow the instinctive "Yes Sarge," that almost slipped free. "Aha, right, Kala. Guess that you just pulled too many surprise inspections. I've probably got PTSD from some of those times you came busting in screaming like Uriel himself was on your heels."

Kala plopped herself into one of the pews and affixed me with a glare. "That doesn't mean you get to call me 'Kala' either, ya ingrate. My parents gave me a ten-letter name and I'm proud of it."

Way to blow it, idiot! "Ah, sorry, Kalawarner." I sheepishly rubbed my arm and let part of my mind wonder how it was that even informal, she still seemed so… commanding. "You do abbreviate my name though, so I figured it was only fair." Don't counter her, you idiot, just agree! "Sorry, won't happen again."

She shot me another one of her famous glares. "Man, you sure are apologizing a lot. Whatever happened to ol' Dry-Death-Dohnaseek? And I call you Don 'cause then it makes you sound like one of them gangsters." She made a finger gun and pointed it at the wall with one eye closed. "You know, one of them cool and suave types that leave horse heads in people's beds."

I'd heard her reasoning before, it was why I got the fedora and cravat after all, but I still let out a snot of laughter at her comparison and plopped down next to her, shoving her over slightly to make room. "A horse head? What's up with that? Man, people were weird back then."

Kalawarner lightly shoved me back and smiled in that way she did. "Yeah, but that's what made them so good, ya know?" She let her head fall back and loosed a deep sigh. "Man, I wish it was back like then. Plenty of excitement, entertainment, and no kids head-down in their smartbooks." She had a soft spot for kids, for some reason. I didn't get it, but it was part of what made her Kala.

I couldn't help but let out a chuckle. "They're called smart _phones_ , Kalawarner. Aren't you supposed to be the infiltration expert here?"

She blinked twice before answering. "Enough about me, we were talking about you. You were doing that thing again when I came in, the thing where you glare at an inanimate object and tip your hat down to cover your eyes. You only do that when you're thinking about killing someone."

Did I do that? "Do I do that?"

"Yes, you have for the last hundred years, last I checked, now fess up." She leaned in slightly closer, making my breath hitch. Slow down, girl, this is hard enough as it is! "So who is it and do you need my help?"

"Erm, what?" I yanked my attention back up and processed what she had just said. "Ah no, sorry. Still a little upset about the statues." Idiotidiotidiotidiot-did she notice?

She leaned back again and hummed slightly before nodding. "Ah, so it was the exorcist guy then. Mr. Morgan?" Was that his name? I'd missed his name the first time and had just been calling him "dead meat" in my head.

"Uh yeah, that guy." I scratched my cheek and looked away. Then my head whipped back around. "Wait, how did you know it was him? All I said was statues."

Kalawarner gave me an unamused look. "Last I remembered, you weren't the type to forgive people who stuck a gun in your mouth. Didn't the last guy to do that end up in forty pieces?"

I couldn't help but snicker at the thought, thinking back. "Yeah, and I've still got the gun too. It's got my teeth marks in it and everything."

Kalawarner elbowed me in the side and when I looked at her she was grinning again. Man I'd missed it while she wasn't smiling. "See, this is more normal. Just two war pals sitting down and talking about the good old days."

I was suddenly hyper-conscious of how close we were sitting and cleared my throat to buy some time. "Yeah, I guess it is nice. To just relax like this, I mean. It's not bad when it's just the two of us." Come on man, this is your chance! It's do or die and you don't know the meaning of the latter! "So umm, would you want to-"

The door at the back of the room burst open and a short blonde-haired girl in a black dress with far too many frills stomped in, ranting at anything and anyone within earshot. "-should have been back ages ago! So we're just sitting around while she goes off and gets food or clothes or people because she's the _leader_ and so we get to sit back and guard a base nobody even knows exists!"

She paused for breath and then tilted her head to the side in a curious manner that reminded me of a cat. "Seek-chan, why are you banging your head against the pew like that? You're denting the wood, you know."

"Just testing the construction quality," I growled out. Yes, Mittelt was just like a cat. Constantly complaining, spoiled, intruding on your free time, and shredding things! With one final pound I let my head fall down into the crater of splintered wood I had created with a groan. And now I had a headache. Just… _perfect_.

So naturally that was the time that a foreign magic began to collect in the middle of the room. In a moment my wings were manifested and I was propelling myself into a backflip that would land me right on top of whoever the intruder was.

So maybe I was trying to impress Kala just a bit. But that was secondary, really. Really!

Then the spell finalized and Raynare dropped into existence a few inches before the tip of my light spear, wings folded oddly around her. I hurriedly dispelled the weapon, but couldn't stop my downward momentum. My fist landed a solid blow on Raynare's wing just before my wings stopped my reckless advance with a powerful flap.

Oh Raphael she was gonna kill me. I immediately flew backwards and took a defensive posture, or as Kala would call it, bomb-shelter-position, and prepared for impact.

I waited for the inevitable, but nothing seemed to happen, so I unrolled from my defensive posture and looked down. Kalawarner was giving me a look of both pity and hidden laughter from the pew while Mittelt was making no sign of trying to hide her excitement at the apparent beating I was about to receive.

Raynare though, was simply holding in place. After a moment she began to shudder, wings unfolding to show the fallen angel grasping the runaway nun at the shoulders, fingers digging in cruelly. Worst of all was her expression, smile too wide and eyes slightly rolled back into her head. What the Samael had happened while she was gone?

The others were looking just as confused as I was. Kalawarner hefted herself off the pew and said, "Hey, Ray, glad you made it back. Did, uh, anything happen? Like an asteroid falling or something landing in your hair?"

She was ignored too as the leader's face changed. Her lips curved down, her eyes refocused forward, and her fingers loosened to a more normal grip on the young girl. "You saw it, right?" She asked the nun, sounding normal again. Maybe she was over whatever it was now?

She repeated the question again. "You did see it, didn't you? He lost, right? He broke, didn't he?" Then she said in a quieter voice, "I'm right, aren't I?"

I couldn't see the small nun's face, but I heard a spitting sound and saw something wet land on Raynare's cheek. Did the cute little innocent girl really just do that?

"He never stopped, you hag. He never stopped." Asia's voice was thick with tears and bottled up emotion, but she spoke with a venom I didn't know was possible. Imposter alert, imposter alert!

Raynare's head wobbled before falling limply onto her left shoulder, the patch of saliva beginning to drip. "He didn't, did he," she said, almost absently. Her fingers slowly uncurled from the young girl, one at a time before her arms dropped to her sides.

Her head tilted back until it was gazing up at me with a vacant gaze. "…You, take care of the girl." Oi, I have a name you know. I gave a nod of assent though, floating down to gently put a firm hand on the nun's shoulder.

Kalawarner was more concerned with our leader though. That was just like her. "And… Raynare? What will you be doing?" She sidled over and tried to grab our leader's hand, but her outstretched arm was viciously batted away before it got close.

"Don't touch me!" Raynare shrieked, eyes going wide as a light spear appeared in her hand, ready to throw. …What the Metatron was happening!

The offending hand was raised as a sign of surrender, Kala backpedaling. "Woah, woah, Ray! Calm down! Look, I won't touch you if you don't want me to, okay? Just let us know what's up or something, will ya?"

Mittelt's annoying voice came through the hubbub, chanting "fight, fight, fight," like a mantra while looking on with wide eyes. Seriously, what was wrong with that girl? Raynare's eyes slowly returned to normal and she dismissed the light spear with a faint gasp. "Nono, sorry. Sorry."

Then she unfurled her wings and took off towards the altar at the back of the room, diving into the revealed secret passage without another word. Mittelt wandered away, complaining about being hungry and upset about there not being a fight after all. Just like I said, exactly like a cat.

While I was distracted, Asia shrugged my hand off her shoulder. I reached out to grab her again, but paused as the girl made no move to run away. Instead, she simply wandered over to the nearest pew and sat down onto it, head tilted back to look at the ornate stained glass windows in the chapel.

Kalawarner and I exchanged helpless glances, the most we could do right then. Our runaway nun was depressed, and Raynare was either crazy or _really_ hungry. The situation was already strained, and this wouldn't help anything.

I breathed out a sigh and turned to go into my own quarters. Whatever mood I had going with Kala was gone in the wake of whatever had swept through here. I just needed to hold out until tonight though, just until after the ritual. Then I could leave with Kala, and be free of Raynare, treason, and devils for a long, long time.

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

 _Giving up on trying to discover the size, I instead focused on the properties. All the ribbons of light avoided it, disrupting their patterns to flee in a random direction or breaking their randomness to veer away in a straight line._

 _There was more to it than that though. Consumed by my curiosity, I reached out to touch it, only to stop precisely three-point-two-five millimeters from it. My breath caught as the depression swelled outwards, as if trying to close that final contact. From this close range I could feel a vague aura it was giving out. It tastedfeltwas_ _ **wrongerrordanger**_ _and I quickly yanked back my hand._

 _I stared at it in a kind of twisted fascination even as it returned to it_ _'s previous placid state, although it looked to be pulsing slightly. This wasn't a hollow, or a defect, or a bulge._

 _It was a_ _ǝl_ _o_ _H._

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

My eyes flew open and I heaved in a deep breath, eyes seeing nothing for a moment, overshadowed by the ghost of purple hatred before I blinked and it was gone. It felt so good that I took a few more breaths, luxuriating in the feeling of air filling my whole lungs before leaving my mouth again. My memories began filtering back as I just continued to breath until the body's automated respiratory system took over again and I could relax somewhat.

Blinking until my eyes were in focus, I was looking up at Koneko, Kiba, Rias, and Akeno who were once again gazing down at my prone form.

"Huh, your hair looks like blood," I mused while gazing upwards. Don't know where that thought came from, but it was worth it to see Rias get an offended look on her face while the others snickered.

I could feel rough wood beneath me, so I was probably on a bench instead of still lying on the ground. Man, these guys were so considerate. It kinda seemed like someone was missing though…

I forced myself up into a sitting position. "Is Issei okay? What about-" My right arm spasmed uncontrollably and I collapsed back down, whacking the back of my head on the bench.

"Kai-san!" Oh good, that was Issei. So he probably was doing okay. He wasn't dead at least, and hopefully less injured than me.

"Careful there."

"Idiot."

"Please relax, Kai-san."

Ignoring their pleas, I tried to push myself up again. I couldn't always keep them worrying about me, and I wasn't _really_ hurt. The green glow- Asia. Asia had healed me through the entire thing, so I wasn't even injured. That really was a cool power, though.

Suddenly Akeno's hands were on my shoulders, irresistibly pushing me back down to my prone position. "Our masochistic kohai shouldn't be so quick to move around yet. Just let your senpais take care of you, Ka-chan." That sounded far too much like "mother" for my liking, but I wasn't willing to argue the name right then.

Well it wasn't like I had a choice. She didn't let up either, keeping her hands pressing down on me. For how soft they were, she was still a devil and they had enough strength to stop a truck. "I'm not a masochist!" I protested. "I was trying to bluff this time and chase her away, not taunt her and make her attack me."

"And that's how you ended up calling a fallen angel, the race most proud of their beauty, ugly?" Akeno's bland tone made me wince as I finally stopped trying to sit back up.

"It just slipped out," I mumbled, craning my neck back to try and look at her face. Unfortunately, her chest was big enough and rather… _overhanging_ , so I couldn't even catch a glimpse of her expression. "And what's a fallen angel? I've heard of devils and angels, but not these fallen guys."

My abdominal muscles suddenly cramped and I tried to jerk forward, but Akeno seemed to take it as another escape attempt and just pushed down harder, halting any progress. Luckily the pain faded just a moment later. Maybe I still had some aftereffects from being stabbed so many times?

"Well, they're basically what they sound like, angels that have committed a sin and fallen from grace." Akeno explained, leaning down closer to me. I quickly riveted my gaze on the back of the wooden bench. Those things were dangerous!

"They tend to be prideful, even more so than devils, and see all other races as beneath them. They see themselves as pure and despise anything that isn't." The black haired devil went on, an odd tone in her voice. I almost glanced up to try and get a look at her face, but caught myself when I remembered just what was in the way.

Rias took over instead, picking up on whatever showed on Akeno's face that I couldn't. "So calling her ugly was probably the worst thing you could have done." Yeah, I was guess that _was_ a bit more severe than the usual female rage, huh.

"Idiot," Koneko interjected. That made two words since I'd woken up. Actually, did it count if they were the same word?

"Yeah, well turns out that I have no mouth filter when I'm in pain." I casually said, trying to focus on keeping my left leg from jerking up in a spasm through force of will. I was mostly successful, but I think the twitch might still have been noticed.

Akeno's hands pushed down a little harder, digging into my shoulders. "And why exactly were you in pain _before_ fighting the fallen angel?" Rias asked, a sweet tone hiding her anger. Luckily, I had enough experience to tell that she was seriously upset.

As if! That's not lucky at all! I quailed beneath that smile and tried to look to someone else for salvation. Kiba just looked interested and Koneko had a small smirk lifting up the corner of her mouth. Traitors!

Where was Issei when I needed him? I spotted him a short distance behind Kiba, staring down at his left arm, clenching and unclenching his fist. Was he blaming himself for Asia being taken? He'd been quiet this entire time, too. I'd just opened my mouth to call out to him when my cheeks were grabbed and pulled towards Rias' smiling face.

"Ah, please do not ignore me when I'm asking you about _how exactly_ you got hurt, Kai-san." Her smile grew bigger and her grip tighter. "I wouldn't want you to get hurt, after all." I could hear the queen's laughter from above me even as I rapidly nodded my head in hopes that my interrogator would let me go.

"Isn't that a bit much, Buchou?" Kiba distantly pleaded. Koneko immediately elbowed him in the ribs and gestured for him to shush. I gave her the stink eye, which did absolutely nothing to her stoic visage. I knew _someone_ I wasn't giving Christmas gifts to.

She did release me and I reached up to rub the soreness out of my cheeks, ignoring another small arm spasm. They'd go away in time, so there was no point in dwelling on them. "Fine, fine, Gremory-san. Asia healed me anyway. I just ran into an exorcist a bit before, it's no big deal."

Obviously I was underplaying it, but that was as much for my pride as it was because of the injury and their unnecessary worry. I only had pride in a few things, but my ability to lie and tell what other people were thinking was one of them. That I had been so easily played stung, and I wasn't looking forward to regaling to tale to the rest of the peerage. Looking at Rias' cloudy face though, I probably wouldn't have a choice.

"So let me get this straight," she asked, still acting deceptively sweet. "You simply happen to bump into an exorcist, somehow escape him with an injury to some part of your body, then proceed to insult a fallen angel in a failed attempt to protect Issei?" Not that it had done much, and she still got away with Asia in the end.

"Well Issei's fine, so I wouldn't say it _failed_ … It just… didn't work as well as we might have liked," I hedged.

She wasn't amused. "I am going to ask you some questions and you are going to answer them immediately and truthfully, does that sound good?"

"Do I have a choice?"

I yelped as a flicker of lightning ran from Akeno's hands into my body. It didn't hurt, but gave me an unpleasant shock. "Wrong answer, Ka-chan," my new torturer giggled.

"First, where did you meet that exorcist?"

"Immediately through the exit gate from here."

Rias broke eye contact with me, looking to Kiba instead. "Yuuto, go check it."

He nodded once and was off, his speed making him look like nothing but a blur. Man that made me jealous. Why couldn't I break the laws of physics like that? The king grabbed my attention once again though. "How did you escape?"

"I didn't, he let me go." Well it was true, even if I doubt he actually expected me to go after Issei.

She raised an eyebrow. "Then how did you get injured?"

I internally winced as I answered. "He shot me with his light gun." That was what they were called, right? If they were actually called laser guns I was going to get annoyed.

"You were hit by _holy light_ and came back in to fight another enemy?" Rias started muttering what I was pretty sure were some swears in the devil language beneath her breath. Sadly, I was a devil and could now understand said language. Suffice it to say that she was not impressed with my choice, or the apparent size of my brain.

After recovering, she continued. "Where were you shot?"

"In the ankle?" Okay that came out sounding more like a question than a response, but at this point I was slightly wary of how she would respond to this little nugget of information.

Rias started swearing again, following in quick succession by Akeno. Koneko was giving me what I suspected to be a measuring expression while Issei had a pained expression on his face. Rias broke out of it just long enough to ask "You at least crawled or something, right? You didn't walk on an ankle that had been infected by holy light? Please tell me you crawled."

"But that would have ruined the effect I was going for," I calmly explained. "I was trying to bluff, remember? I can't do that very well crawling."

The response was another round of swears. This was actually kind of fun, _and_ I was learning new words! Who said education wasn't fun?

Akeno though had stopped swearing and was instead leaning down over me again. "So you walked the entire way on a destroyed ankle infected by holy light?"

"Yeah? I just said that didn't I?" It seemed like the more casual I was, the more they reacted, so I'll admit I was playing it up somewhat. It wasn't _nearly_ as easy as I tried to make it sound.

"Oh, I think we are going to have a _lot_ of fun together, M-kun…" Akeno _purred_ as she sent another shock of electricity through my muscles, making one arm jerk suddenly.

"Hey cut that out! And don't call me that!" I tried to reach up and pull her off me, but she just leaned down further, almost smothering me now.

"Why don't you _make me_ , M-kun…"

Rias interrupted our little argument with a well-timed cough. "To return to the matter at hand, do you know where the exorcist went?"

I stopped struggling and looked back at her. "Nah. He just walked past me, so I'd assume he's out of the mall at least, though he could have gone anywhere from there."

She hummed, thinking over my response. "That's unfortunate. Do you know what he looked like?"

I did my best to hold back another spasm as I thought back to the cold man's face. "Yeah, I think he had a thin face and blue eyes, long black hair in a ponytail. It could have been a disguise though." Not that he would need one. He could probably act like a grandmother in her eighties and people would believe him. Jerk.

No, I wasn't bitter. Why do you ask?

"I'll pass that on to Kiba when he gets back."

"So, are there any other questions or is that it," I asked, hoping to get out of this uncomfortable position. It was starting to hurt my back, pressed into the bench like this.

"Just one last one," Rias said. "What happened to Kioko. You two were together, right? Issei said you came back without her though."

That made my eyes go wide. "I. Am. Doomed." I said as matter-of-factly as I could.

"Huh, why is that?" asked Akeno.

"The exorcist had some kind of spell that compelled humans away from the area. Kioko was caught up in it, but from her perspective, I just ditched her while on a date and didn't come back for…" I quickly checked my watch. "Half an hour."

Akeno laughed again and finally released my shoulders. "Well we wouldn't want you to keep her waiting, would we?"

I gratefully rolled off the bench with a sigh of relief and landed in a crouch, standing up before my weak legs could buckle beneath me. I was just about to set off when Rias called out from behind me. "Hold on, Kado-san."

I turned, already trying to think of an excuse to tell Kioko. "Yeah, what is it?"

The devil looked at me with worry in her eyes. "I know that we were rather… heavy-handed with questioning you, but if you information that you hadn't shared with us, such as about a second exorcist running around, it could have put my peerage in danger. I am simply worried, you understand."

Ignoring the small slight of indirectly saying that I was not a part of said peerage, I gave a smile in response. "Yeah, I'm really bad at explaining things sometimes, it's fine."

She coughed again, apparently having one more thing to say. she looked slightly unsure, but carried on anyway. "I know that you're close with Horikawa-san and that she is already aware of the supernatural, but what are you going to tell her about the situation?" It wasn't like we'd been trying to be subtle, but I felt a sudden burst of possessiveness. I wouldn't let her get sucked into any kind of devil's bargain, no matter what.

Unless she actually wanted to, in which case I'd smartly step aside. "Well, I hadn't planned on telling her anything." She'd been under a spell at the time and would probably blame herself for not being there if she knew. I was fine now, there was no reason to get her all worried.

An expression partway between relief and confusion was on the red-head's face. "Huh, but? I mean, I'm glad, but why? I didn't think you were the type that would hide things like this from her."

I turned away from my king, an involuntary smile coming to my lips, "Rias? You have no idea what I would do to keep my people smiling." Then I took off running on still shaky legs. I had an idea of what could work, but I'd have to hurry if it was going to be believable.

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

I offered a frown that was entirely real at my boyfriend as he ran up, even as it covered up the immense amounts of worry inside me. "Where were you, Kado-kun? Did you get lost at some point? And what's up with the new clothes?"

Indeed he was wearing a new outfit, a pair of jeans and a dark blue t-shirt with an undone blazer over the top. _Bought to hide the cauterized holes in his uniform._ He offered up a guileless smile and held up a blue plastic shopping bag.

"Sorry, I thought it might be nice to have some different clothes for a date instead of just our school uniforms. It took me a while to choose since I wasn't sure what you'd like." _Liar, you picked the first good pair that you saw. I am flattered that you know me well enough to actually be accurate though._

"Well that is sweet, but why didn't you tell me? I would have helped you pick them." _Because he was being tortured by a fallen angel and I couldn_ _'t do a thing._ I offered a confused frown to hide the shifting turmoil inside.

The body-monitoring seal I'd placed on him had picked up everything from the state of his injuries to what he heard and saw, which included his plan to not tell me what he'd gone through. _You have no idea what I would do to keep my people smiling._ Oh~ I got the chills when he said that.

I was well aware of his faults, even if they only seemed to make him more perfect to me. I had watched him secretly blackmail a man into losing everything, then go up and offer the same person a hand and the number of a job agency with a smile. He was capable of more than he gave himself credit for, and far more than anyone else did. He knew no limits when it came to his heroic tendencies. I was the only one who could understand him.

I understood his reasons, even if he hadn't said them. He didn't want me to be worried, to think that every time that he went somewhere that he'd be attacked. And even if it was true, he wanted to keep me safe and happy. The idiot. As if I could be happy when he was getting attacked and losing his life. Even if it _did_ make my heart pound each time I saw him protect someone like that.

In response to my question he beamed and rubbed the back of his head with his free hand. _Once._ "Well I wanted it to be a surprise! I was feeling pretty outdone by Issei earlier, so I wanted to do something special before you try to ditch me for the better boyfriend."

I smiled at his obvious joke, but I could tell that he still had some underlying concern hidden in the question. He really didn't get it, did he? "As if that would ever happen." I linked my arm with his and reached for the bag he was holding, but he jerked it farther away, smiling in a way that made his warm eyes crinkle up. _Twice._

"Nope, boyfriend privileges. I get to carry the bags until you need them. Wouldn't want you to strain anything with those thin arms of yours." I accepted his excuse and smiled back, thanking my lucky stars that I had found someone as great as him.

"Ha! You know these arms could lift more than you any day, nerd boy!" He recoiled back, faking hurt as his arm rubbed against mine slightly.

"Betrayal! How could you do this to me!" _Betrayed, shot in the foot as he tried to escape, taunted, and then sent on to be tortured._

"Ahahaha, you thought I was on your side? You were wro-" my voice caught as _Her demented voice shouted denials as she stabbed him over and over and over and-_ I cleared my throat and waved it off. "Ha, guess I can't even play the villain convincingly!"

He rolled his eyes, tucking his arm more firmly in my own as he loosely swung his other hand back and forth with the shopping bag still in it. "Nah, you'd be a great actor if you wanted to be. Pretty sure you could make Studio Ghibli if you wanted to go that route." _Putting on a brave smile as he walked forward on half of an ankle and taunted someone who could kill him in an instant. And that was him trying to be_ careful _._

"Nah, I'm not that good." I tried to change the subject, hoping to get onto something, anything, a little more normal. "Where should I go to change into these new clothes you picked out?" And did he really not expect me to notice that there was no sign of his uniform anywhere?

He rubbed his chin before looking surprised to feel the shopping bag bumping his chest. _Three times._ "Well I'd say a clothing store, but I'm not sure how they'd feel about you using their changing rooms to try on clothes you didn't buy there."

"Yeah, they probably wouldn't like that very much, huh…" I fell to musing as he did the same next to me, although we were assuredly considering different topics. Didn't he trust that I could help him? That I cared if he was hurt or not? How was he so okay with just swallowing his pain like this? Why?

"Huh?" Kado's eyes flickered up to mine and I realized I said the last word out loud.

"Ah, sorry. I was just wondering why you wanted to go out of your way to do something special like this? Issei and Asia already left, so our job is done, isn't it?" _One kidnapped, the other currently being healed, according to his_ very _close positioning with two other devils. Although you should be getting healing too, you overly-sensitive idiot._

Kado considered the answer for a bit, before shrugging and saying "Well things have been pretty crazy recently, so I wanted to do something special, something normal together." _Killed twice, had a mental breakdown, and was tortured, all within ninety-six hours. That must be a record._

"I mean you're probably the same, right?" He went on. "A lot's happened recently, so I figured you'd want to know that _something_ is still good. That _we_ _'re_ still okay." _His first words after waking up._ _"Is Issei okay?" Will it ever be about just "us?"_

I considered that. Honestly things were new and different and strange, but I loved him. That hadn't changed. I glanced over, just to see him again, and saw a grimace flicker across his face just as the seal told me that he was withholding another spasm. _Four times._

And he was doing it because he didn't want me to worry, he didn't want me to know his pain. He was trying to protect me, and instead it hurt that he couldn't admit that he needed help or someone to comfort him.

My boyfriend, taking the weight of the world onto himself and feeling the weight of every loss. I knew that he cried in his sleep at night, mourning for the two stray devils that had killed him and died in turn. That he mourned as easily as he breathed, and smiled as easily as he did both, lighting up my world.

Oh, how I wanted to See him truly, to take in all that he was and smother myself in it. But I knew I would go too far, too much. And really, shouldn't I be satisfied with being by his side and loving him?

But I wasn't satisfied.

Blinking, I realized that we had stopped. Kado was standing right in front of me, his concerned brown eyes looking deeply into my own as he reached up a hand to wipe away my tears. "Hey, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" _Why are you_ _… crying?_

I shook my head and smiled to hide the pain, just like he did, gently grasping his hand to slide it off my face. "It's nothing, Kado-kun. I'm just so lucky to have a boyfriend like you."

I gently let go of his hand and reached for the shopping bag. He let me take it without resisting, too worried about me to care, but unsure of what to say. I bowed deeply, trying to hide his worry from my eyes. _Idiot_ _… I should be worried about you…_ "I'm sorry, Kado. But I think I have to go home now."

And then I turned and ran, eyes burning and the seal showing me exactly how his arm raised up after me and he opened his mouth before the arm shook and slowly lowered. His head dropped low, and his eyes turned dull as he blamed himself for nothing. _Idiot, how could you do this to me? And how can I do this to you?_

It hurt. It felt like there was ball of thorns in my chest that dug itself in deeper each time I thought of him. But it was nothing compared to his pain, _staring defiant as his own body functions began to shut down and I screamed in fear._

I couldn't heal his pain, couldn't change the past. So I turned my pain into anger, into a fiery drive as I slowly angled my path to take me to where the Web had showed the grouping of black dots. "Fallen angels, huh?" I mused out loud, picking up speed as I channeled the street into me. "Wonder if fallen angels bleed…" _They would, a thousand times more than he did._

* * *

End AN: Not gonna say much about the italicized sections, since either they're self-explanatory or chalk full of secrets. But you don't know which one it is, _wooo~_

The Exorcist section was pretty fun to work on, and for some reason I just fell in love with the idea of an exorcist who believes in God and the Bible, but has modified that belief. Dunno know why, but it hit me and I couldn't give it up.

The Dohnaseek interlude was a real pain for me at first. It started off as an Issei interlude, but that didn't work out, so I brainstormed for about a day on what it should be instead. I ended up settling on Dohnaseek as the character to focus on. Even that was tricky at first, but then I got the idea of giving him a crush on Kalawarner, and suddenly it all clicked together. It still feels like the Raynare at the end didn't quite fit, but it was better than the original version, in which she basically went insane and tried to go off on a crusade to kill Kado. So this is weird, but trust me, it could be worse.

About the "interrogation" after Kado woke up, I feel like it's at least plausible. Kado didn't want to admit he had been hurt or his weakness, but it was something that the others needed to be told about. The lightning is a small shock, not enough for any kind of long-term or even real short-term damage. And at that point, Kado was gonna spill the beans with or without it. Aah, it still seems messed up somehow when I look on it, but it all fits together in my head! *Pounds head on nearest hard surface.*

And the Kioko Interlude. Man I loved this one. There are a couple things I hinted at in previous chapters that lead back to this, such as Kioko knowing where Kado was at basically all times, and also a brief glimpse of what she can do. (Hint: Kioko gets an action scene in the next chapter and it is absolutely _terrifying_. I couldn't stop cackling for ten minutes after I was done writing.) Another thing I really wanted to show is how Kioko sees the relationship and Kado from her side of things. It probably doesn't match up with previous chapters as much as I would like, but I thought it was pretty good.

And a little side thing, if you caught the mention of Kado blackmailing a man into poverty before helping him, the man was a high-ranking official in a corrupt business with a guilty conscience. Kado basically gave him a new lease on life without his old ties. He's a lot poorer now, but a lot happier. I'll try to drop some other hints about what else Kado got up to before the devils came around in future chapters.

Hope you enjoyed, and see you next chapter!


	9. So That Happened

AN: Yeah, too lazy to think of one this time.

When first writing/editing this, I honestly thought this chapter was great. There's even an action scene in it, and I thought I'd done a good job. Then yesterday I read some fanfiction with surreal descriptions like I was trying to go for in the second scene, and now today it feels like it falls so flat in comparison. But it's what I've got, and I just don't have the skill to be able to pull something that incredible off. I hope you guys enjoy it anyway.

P.S. Yandere!Kioko's back.

Warning for a mention of torture, (all off-screen) and for character death.

Disclaimer: I can't even read Japanese yet, how am I supposed to have written something like Highschool DxD in it?

* * *

My hand fell back down to my side, and I didn't care enough to restrain the shiver that run up it's skin. What had I done wrong? Wrong enough that Kioko literally _ran_ from me?

Well besides the whole lying to her thing, but she hadn't noticed, had she? And it's not like buying a girl clothes goes against the Unwritten Rules, right? I felt like pounding my head against the nearest light pole, as if that would help anything, but that probably wasn't a good idea when I was still injured.

I had the urge to try and catch up to Kioko, just to ask for an explanation or to try and apologize. But I _knew_ that it was my fault this time, somehow, and it didn't seem right to try and follow after her for my mistake.

Placing my hands in the pockets of brand new jeans, I started to walk down the street with my head down. Man, would nothing go right today? If this was what they usually had to put up with, being a devil sucked.

Head filled with confusion and doubt, I barely put enough attention to where I was walking to avoid bumping into anything. So I was completely blindsided when I felt a pat on my back. I looked up to see an older gentleman in a suit giving me a sympathetic expression.

He patted me on the shoulder and said "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll figure things out." Then he went on his way, picking his way through the rest of the crowd as he walked down the street.

…What? Did I really look so pitiful that a stranger felt like they needed to encourage me? I really was slipping. Used to be that I could be a few steps away from death and nobody would notice a thing. But now one bad date and it's the end of the world for me?

Nope, not happening. I straightened my back and lifted my head higher. I was alive, I had a good family, a girlfriend, and even friends now! So I messed up? Well I've got the rest of my life ahead of me, and I'm not going to spent another moment of it moping around like this.

As I walked off in the other direction, forcing myself to whistle a popular tune, I put my mind to figuring out how to fix this. I'd considered doing something special for Kioko before, and this just meant I had even more reason to do so.

I wonder if her parents would let her have a pet? That would be something nice to do, right? Unless she didn't like pets? …Was it possible to not like kittens? I suppose if she was allergic…

Rolling the idea around in my mind for a time, I realized that I was already considering the type of cat to get Kioko and what to name it. Laughing, I decided I'd better find out if it was a good idea or not first.

I had almost pulled out my phone when I remembered exactly why I was planning something like this in the first place, and left it where it was. …This could be fixed, right? I hadn't hurt her, had I?

…I'd get the cat, just in case.

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

Partway to the abandoned church where the fallen angels resided, Kado seemed to perk up and even started whistling. I guess that old man was really persuasive, wasn't he? My heart eased even as my chest tightened up. _(HE wasn_ _'t allowed to forget me.)_

Did it only take that much for him to get over me? Just one comment and he was happy again? How much did I really mean to him? I shook my head and sped up slightly, the trees almost blurring by as I ran.

No, I should just be glad he's happy again. I'm doing this for him, so I shouldn't be so selfish. _(All for HIM.)_ And even if he doesn't hold me highly in his heart, then it wouldn't change anything. After all, I fell in love with him, not the other way around.

A few minutes later I had reached the faded white chapel and was walking up the steps leading to the large wooden doors. They looked aged and weather-beaten, but somehow still seemed to stand firm in spite of it all. I could respect that.

So I gave a small apology before I kicked them down. Taking a sideways stance, I channeled the strength and age of the smooth stone beneath my feet into my legs. _Take the time, take the experience, take the life,_ my teacher would say, and that's precisely what I did. _(I took hers too. That was my first.)_

The carved stone became brighter, newer, even as cracks opened and widened between the once-smooth connections between blocks. I stopped draining the life once my legs began to feel stiff, giving a word of thanks to the earth which had allowed me to use it's wisdom.

Then I pivoted on my left foot and swung my leg directly in the center of the doors, releasing a concentrated burst of life at the moment of impact, adding that much extra power to the kick. It really wasn't necessary, but I'd already decided that if I was going to do this, I was going to do it right. _(Let them fear me.)_

The heavy doors blasted apart, spinning on their squealing hinges and impacting the inside wall with a ferocious bang. One old and overstressed hinge snapped off the wall and the weight of the door dragged the rest soon after it, hitting the floor with another loud sound.

I stepped onto the door and tried to look as casual as possible while staring at the two fallen angels, so denoted by the black feathered wings protruding from their backs. "Well hello there. I don't suppose either of you would be the feathered hussy that tried to kill my man, would you?"

I could already tell that neither of them was, not matching up with the image I'd seen from Kado's eyes. One was clearly male while the other had brown hair. Both were flying slightly above the ground with active light spears in their hands. That meant they were enemies, right? Still, might as well take my time. _(HE suffered, so should they.)_

At hearing my question, the male-with-a-sweet-hat's shoulders drooped slightly. I could barely hear a groaned "What the Michael did Raynare _do?_ " even as he brought them back up into a fighting stance. So he didn't even know? Interesting, not that it would save him. Guilty by association and all that. _(All were guilty. All but HIM.)_

The female _(A threat. Not for long though.)_ shot the male a glare from the corner of her as she responded. "I'm afraid we don't know what you're talking about, but if you come into our abode with aggressive intent, we _will_ protect ourselves."

Oh, she thought she had a chance? That was cute.

I tilted my head, feeling a genuine laugh bubble up my throat. "That's wonderful!" I closed my eyes, feeling the familiar thrill begin to burn in my chest. "I've needed a workout for a while. Can't get too fat, you know." _(HE might not like that. HE might like them more instead. Better solve that.)_

Then I turned on the Sight. There were two parts to the druidic arts, not including those augmented by circles, runes, and seals. The Sight, to see the breath of the world, and the Touch, to grasp it.

I opened my eyes and everything _glistened_ in hues of redgraygreenblue _black_ coldsaltyjoy in a snowglobe of jeweled kaleidoscopes. And it was _gorgeous_. How had I gone so long without this? A gleeful smile lit up my face, but I managed to rein myself in enough to remember there was something I needed to do.

Picking through the bliss, I eventually fixated on the _black_ coming towards me. That's right, black was an enemy, weren't they? Or maybe that was red… Ah well, either way it's the same.

I focused the graygreen in my legs as the blacks got closer, seeming to move forwards too slowly. Why wait, honestly? So with a twist I was between them, some graygreen bleeding from my legs and returning to the breath.

Why were the black sideways? Right, I was horizontal, not them. I was kicking too, they weren't doing that either. I let a giggle escape me as I wondered why they even tried with their shiny white if they weren't even aiming at me?

Then the world blurred and more graygreen bled as a vicious snapkick hit the back of female-black's head sending it towards the gray floor as I grabbed the black-with-hat's face and brought it down into my knee.

I held back of course, there wasn't much point in killing them. Too much loss of light. Now barely graygreen feet on gray floor though, I wondered why I was attacking them at all. It wasn't like I needed to.

So I asked the graygreen and got an answer back. Crouching down next to the black-with-hat, I flicked his forehead and sent him back down to the gray floor. "The stairs don't like you. You were mean to them."

Black-with-hat was saying something, but it just didn't seem to matter as I watched his black swirl around in dark circles and spirals that looped in figure eights around his body. Always moving but never changing. I wondered what that was like, so I asked.

I reached a hand down to the black-with-hat and lightly brushed his chest. Then I Touched and was black. It felt like hatred and sorrow and loneliness and was that _love_? I giggled again as I felt the prodding to save the female-black even as it decreased, the swirling stilling slowly.

Silly black, you can't save her, she's already dead! Oh, you are too. It stilled before finally starting to vibrate with it's last remnants of self. They always did that.

I thought I heard something and turned to see the female-black on the ground, not even trying to get up while wet black fell from her eyes and red black from her mouth. Was it true love? Really really really? I couldn't leave them apart then! I reached, Touched, and was black-er, finally releasing the last graygreen into the breath. I didn't need it anymore.

This black was shifting around, restless. But it settled down once it found the dead swirling black, and that was cute.

Hearing something, my head snapped up as I heard something and saw a female yellow coming through the gray door. It made a loud sound that I didn't understand, but I did remember with a sense of pride that they graygreen hadn't liked her either. Maybe she was love like the other ones though? If so, I should let it be together too!

She had to be punished though, and I'd already let the graygreen go back, so it would have to be black. The yellow made another shiny white stick and threw it at me. Just a bit of black, and big feathers came from my back, easily lifting me out of the way. I felt the wings behind me and giggled as I realized that they were as big as female-black and black-hat's wings combined! True love indeed! I wondered what kind of wings me and HIM would make.

Then I used a bit more black like it told me to, and used the white to stab the yellow. Actually, that was kinda fun, so I did it a bit more. When I realized her yellow was starting to go into the breath though, I Touched it instead and took it into me.

It was spiky though and didn't seem to be happy with the black, so I let it go back. I had to pull it off me though, since it changed it's mind and tried to stick to me harder. I made a face and finished stripping it from me, letting it fade into the breath.

I stood up and walked across the room to the silverblue at the other end of the gray floor, letting my hands trail across the dullgreenblue seats as I went by. The dull made the greenblue unhappy, so I pulled it out and let it go to the breath. The greenblue was happier after that and it made me smile too.

I pushed aside the silverblue at the top to find the redblue stairs beneath it just like it had said. Walking down the redblue stairs I found a big grayred room with two things that drew my attention. The redsilver cross at the other end of the grayred room and the _fuchsia_ lump in the middle.

Brushing a hand against the wall, the grayred told me that it was hurt, many people and the _fuchsia_ had hurt it. It wanted to be grayblue again. I told it I couldn't do that, but I could hurt the _fuchsia_ very badly. It said it would like that very much.

So I stepped forward until I was over the _fuchsia_. It wasn't attacking, it was just shaking and saying something I didn't care to try and hear. I made the white again, but then stopped before I brought it down.

There was something I had wanted to do, right? What was it? It was more important than killing the _fuchsia_ , for sure. Oh, that was it! I needed to _punish_ her for HIM. And I wanted to do it myself.

So I let the white fade. Let the black go into the breath. And closed my eyes. I frowned at the dim light I could see reflected off my eyelids. That was right, Sight turned my eyes red and glowing, didn't it. That was why I didn't want to ever use it in front of HIM, even though I really wanted to see his light. I wanted it so bad all the time, a burning _need_ at the back of my mind. But I didn't for some reason, so it must be important.

I let the Sight fade and opened my eyes to a large stone hall, probably made originally for ritualistic purposes. On the other end of the room was indeed a cross, black with gold rings and shackles at the sides and bottom. This was no holy symbol, this was something designed for a human shape to be strapped to it.

It was a secondary priority though, and nobody would ever get to use it anyway. I turned my attention to the shivering wretch at my feet. She was completely ignoring me, mumbling about eyes. She had no right to be speaking or even _thinking_ about him after what she'd done. _(Mine. MineminemineMINEMINE-)_

Wait, was Kado buying a kitten? That was adorable! Who wouldn't love that tiny little whiskered face? Evil soulless people like this lump of trash, probably. I was going to name it Kana, no matter what Kado said. I could probably get him to agree anyway.

Ah, but I suppose I'd better get this out of the way first. I gave a harsh kick to the body, but it barely responded, only flinching before it went back to it's muttering. Well this wouldn't be fun at all then! Guess I'd have to resort to desperate measures then.

"Wow, you are ugly!" My lips curled up into a smirk as the fallen angel beneath me froze and uncurled to look at me wide wide, frightened eyes. "It's true, isn't it," I said, moving closer and desperately enjoying how her breath rattled and she tried to retreat into the stone floor. " _You_ _'re scared of us._ " _(Good. She should be.)_

Then she finally reacted, her arm jerking up and pointing at my torso, light beginning to foam from her fingertips. I casually batted the hand aside, then stepped on her arm when it seemed like she might try and run. I reached for the holster strapped to my thigh and pulled out the knife I carried for self-defense purposes. Or so I told people.

It wasn't a large knife, or even against school regulations. The stupid school uniform simply didn't come with any pockets so I had to resort to desperate measures. Kicking out with the foot I wasn't pinning the fallen angel down with, it impacted her face harshly and bounced her raised head against the ground. _(Just starting/Never ending.)_

"Hey, Raynare, right?" I flashed her a wide smile as I crouched down again, putting more of my weight on her durable wrist and enjoying her fear. "I think you hurt something of mine. So I just came to return the favor. No hard feelings, right?" _(Scream. Please, please scream. Because HE_ _'s better than you.)_

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

Emerging from the stairwell, I was careful to avoid touching the altar with my hands, instead using one foot to slide the passage closed. Making my way through a door behind the pulpit, I found a network of rooms and was able to find a washroom on the third door I tried. _(HE wouldn_ _'t like me with blood on my hands. Too late for that though.)_ The first one had been a bedroom, while the second was locked. I made sure to wipe the fingerprints off afterwards, just in case. Wouldn't want any evidence, after all.

Humming slightly as I came back into the chapel, I made my way down the row in the middle, admiring the pews as I passed by. They looked much the same as when I had come in earlier, but they seemed to hold themselves slightly firmer. They seemed more full of life, if you will. I smiled at my thin joke and gave one bench a small pat.

I was just about to walk out the main door when I noticed that the blonde-haired girl was missing, a patch of blood remaining where she used to be. I was sure I'd killed her, even before I basically removed her soul, so there was no way she had simply gotten up and left. Someone else had been here.

It would be a problem if somebody was able to figure out that I was the person who had done this, so I would have to make sure there were no witnesses. Leaning down I tapped the floor, asking the old ground if there was anyone in the area. It let me know that nobody was on the floor of the church except me, but it simply didn't know about the outside area.

I gave it an affectionate pat and stood back up. If there _was_ anyone outside, the only way to find out would be to go out and ask there, which would mean if the watcher did exist, they'd already be able to identify me. And I didn't want to take the risk that I wouldn't be able to hunt them down to silence them.

An alternate exit point it is then. "Wait," I spoke aloud, concentrating on what the seal was telling me. "Is he buying flowers?" I gasped out loud, eyes growing wide. "He totally is! He's buying me flowers! That is the sweetest thing!" I couldn't keep in my excitement and did a little spin that turned into an impromptu dance.

Flowers and a kitten? Maybe I should get upset more often if this is what he does in response! Just imagine me with a house full of flowers and cats! If that isn't bliss, than what is? _(Hearing her beg and scream apologies beneath me as the knife slid slowly_ _…)_

My foot hit something uneven and made me stumble. I'd gotten a bit too caught up in my excitement and had accidentally stepped on the brown-haired fallen angel. Kalawarner, I believe Raynare had said her name was. She'd told me a lot of things while we talked, including what the ornate cross was for. I grimaced as I remembered that I'd had to leave it back behind in the underground room, it being too big to take with me.

I removed my foot from Kalawarner's stomach and went back to considering how I was going to leave the building. Pondering on how cute Kado was when he was apologetic could come later. So if I couldn't use the door, when then, that left the window, didn't it?

I picked one out that was closer to the back of the room and prepared to make a running dash, Touching and absorbing some of the ground's strength into me as I did so. Then after a moment of consideration, I grabbed Dohnaseek's hat from where it had fallen off his head onto the ground. I just _had_ to find out how Kado looked in it.

Then I took off down the row, angling myself at the window and leaping up into a jump-kick. Releasing some of the stored energy at the moment of impact, the glass was blasted away from me, ensuring that I wasn't cut by any glass shards. I'd barely landed in a crouch before I was dashing into the forest, where hopefully the thick tree cover would prevent any watchers from getting a clear picture of my face.

And Kado was buying chocolates now?! Ah, have mercy on this poor soul, Aphrodite! She can only take so much before she breaks! Hopefully he'd be in a good mood after giving me them, and I knew that not having to deal with the fallen angels would relieve some of his stress. Wasn't I just the best girlfriend ever? _(Never good enough, too pure for a murderer like you.)_

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

Stepping out of the candy store, I caught a brief glimpse of white hair before something lightly impacted my chest. Immediately recognizing what that particular shade meant, I jumped to the side, trying to hide the small bag of chocolates behind my back.

I didn't think she was the kind of person who would extort candy from classmates, but I didn't want to take any chances. After the date today and the items for the apology, my wallet was already weeping!

"Hi, Koneko-chan!" I made my voice as chipper as I could, hoping I could protect the precious candies. "Do you usually come here to get your snacks? I notice you tend to be eating something most of the time."

Koneko simply stared at me for a moment before her head tipped to the side slowly. It probably looked cute, but I was feeling an aura of danger coming from the movement for some reason. "Are you… saying I'm fat?"

I was right. "N-No, of course not! There's no way that you could be anything like that with a body like yours!" You know, the whole "being a devil" thing. I'm pretty sure that's the only thing keeping most of the peerage looking so good, especially with their choices in food.

"Are you… saying I'm short?"

Instead of pacifying her, she took the comment the wrong way and the aura of danger intensified. I kept a close eye on her now-clenched fist as I panicked, trying to think of a way out. Why did girls have to be like this?

"Well, it's not bad to be short, is it? You're still really strong, and it means people like you more. It makes you really cute!" Taking back previous statements wasn't working, so try one of my 108 skills, the panicked compliment!

"Are you… saying I'm cute?"

Why does the sense of danger get worse as you say that! Girls are supposed to blush and get embarrassed at something like that! I finally gave up and threw my hands in the air. That one was actually on my own volition too, the spasms having finally stopped while I was in the store. "Fine, I get it! What do you want me to do as an apology then."

The feeling of imminent doom immediately disappeared as the small girl's eyes were riveted on the small bag of chocolates in my upraised hand. "…Chocolate. As fee."

So that was your goal all along! Restraining the urge to retort, I instead sighed and lowered my hand. "Not going to happen, Koneko-chan. I'm going to give these to Kioko."

Koneko paused, as if considering something. "…she won't notice one?" Seeing as this was Kioko, she probably would, but that wasn't the point here.

"Not the point." I raised an eyebrow, guessing where she was going with all this. "This bag is for her, and it's certainly not very considerate if I give something that I got for her to anyone else."

Having made my point, I tried retreating before the event could go on any further, but was arrested by a small hand grabbing my sleeve with all the grip of a pneumatic press. "Chocolate as apology." There was no room for argument in her voice.

I gave up on escape and turned back to the store with a sigh. A minute later, Koneko was happily munching on her extorted goods while I was counting the few coins still remaining in my wallet. Wasn't this basically the event of "Hey, you spilled something on my shirt, that'll be five thousand yen as fee?" But somehow I couldn't get upset with the girl, who had a composed but blissful look on her face. Maybe that was my self-defense instincts speaking.

Finally having cleared the troll's bridge, I crossed the street and picked up a bouquet of flowers and the small cat carrier from the bench where I had left them. Finally it was time for me to travel to Kioko's house and give the items as an apology!

One step into my journey, I realized that I didn't know where Kioko lived. How had I overlooked that crucial fact! And how did I not know that incredibly vital information about my own girlfriend!

Well, it was true that Kioko didn't talk much about herself, and I guess I was probably about the same. A mixture of boring lives and things that we wanted to keep secret. But somewhere in the mix, I'd completely missed even the basic facts that I needed to know about her.

It didn't seem right to call Kioko and ask where her house was just so that I could apologize to her, but it was looking like it was my only option at this rate. I glumly pulled out my phone and pressed the speed-dial button.

I held the phone up to my ear, and waited. Through the dialing tone, I could hear the faint sound of _Flight of the Valkyries_ , Kioko's distinctive ringtone, coming from somewhere nearby. Was she seriously that close?

Sharpening my ears, I could pinpoint that it was coming from farther down the street, and was quiet enough that I could only hear it with my enhanced hearing. I started off down towards it, hoping that it was actually her and not just a coincidence. But part of me wondered why she wasn't picking up. Was she still mad at me?

I located Kioko before too long, sitting at a canopied table in an outdoor cafe, slumped over and staring intently at her phone with a worried expression. I hesitated, but pushed past it. It was the man's duty to apologize, and I had already decided to do so!

As I snapped the phone in my hand closed, ending the call, Kioko straightened suddenly, before collapsing onto the table, her head on top of her folded arms. I walked closer and carefully settled myself into the seat across from her, before clearing my throat when she made no motion of looking up.

"If you are here to try and pick up a girl who looks like she's just been broken up with, I suggest you leave. Me and my boyfriend are still very much together." Her cold words might have frozen the hearts of other men, but it made my own leap with joy. Maybe this wasn't as I thought.

I cleared my throat again, this time out of nervousness, and edged my seat slightly closer to the table. "Well, not exactly."

Kioko's head snapped up with a look of surprise and I took the opportunity to unload my arms onto the table, making sure none of the items fell off the glass surface. "Hey Kioko-chan, fancy seeing you here."

The plan was for that to lead into an apology, but that died a fiery death as the head of blonde hair slowly drifted back down to look at the surface of the table without saying anything. Come on, man! Think of something!

"So… if I wasn't me, I _would_ be coming over to try and catch you on the rebound." Let me amend that. Think of something that isn't _utterly stupid_. The line that was supposed to be smooth instead came out stuttering and just slightly creepy instead. I have to do better than that, just think of something!

My inner monologue was interrupted by a snort of laughter coming from Kioko's bowed head. My eyebrows shot up in surprise at that sudden turn of events as she lifted her head up, a smile on her face. "Sorry, I know I should be flattered or something, but it's hard to stay depressed when you try and do something like that."

…Never mind, Stupid!Kado. Carry on. "Really?" A smile grew on my face as I felt a huge wave of relief. At least I had done something. And this was the perfect opportunity to offer an apology as well.

"I'm-"

"I'm sorry for running off like that!"

Just as I prepared to give ask forgiveness, Kioko surprised me by bowing her head low and apologizing before I could. Mostly I was shocked, but a small part was miffed that she had stolen my thunder like that.

Head still bowed, Kioko continued. "I can't explain why, but I was going through something that didn't have me in the best state of mind. I wanted to get my head on straight before anything else, but it was only after I did so that I realized you would blame yourself for it. So I deeply apologize for the worry that I have caused you."

It felt like a balloon was inflated inside my chest, pushing all the cramped feelings out and leaving a clear space in their place. I sat back in my chair and let my head fall back so I was staring at the red cloth umbrella above the table. "Aha, so that was it. And after I'd gotten all of these to make up for it, too."

My words were grumpy, but there was a big smile on my face. So it was something like that in the end. I seriously thought I had messed up, and I'm glad that Kioko's not upset. But there's something else about her explanation.

"I won't ask about what had you so worried," I said, "But please let me know if there's anything I can help with, or even if there isn't and you just want someone to talk to. That's what I'm here for." I'd trust that she had it handled, but I still wanted to do whatever I could.

I heard the rustling of plastic and looked back down to see my girlfriend biting into of the chocolates I'd bought with a happy smile on her face. "Hey! I bought those for the apology!"

"And an apology was given," she refuted, nimbly yanking the bag out of my reach as I tried to grab for it. "Just because you weren't the one who was giving it doesn't mean these should go to waste." Haaa… I wasn't really upset, but if I wasn't the one in the wrong, couldn't I at least have one?

Hiding my thoughts, I leaned back and folded my arms. "Well go ahead then, I did buy them for you after all. Man, I really was worried before." Hello, guilt trip, my old friend~

"Thanks, Kado-kun! You're the best." She popped another chocolate into her mouth and showed off a big grin with teeth stained brown. You have failed me, my old ally!

Giving up on the sugary confection, I relaxed and watched as she devoured the treat happily, rapidly going through the bag until there was one remaining. Weren't girls supposed to be worried more about how many calories something was or whatever? Although I knew Kioko well enough by now that she didn't care about anything like that. Maybe she had a way to bleed it off with her powers or something.

I was shaken from my thoughts as something pushed into my mouth, instinctively biting down on the intruder only to taste sweetness. Kioko was in front of me, leaning over the table to push the final chocolate into my mouth with a mischievous smirk. "There, now you can't complain that I didn't share."

Rolling my eyes, I relaxed and focused on enjoying the flavor. There was just something about sweet things that made them relaxing. Maybe it was because I didn't have them too often, but it just had a calming effect.

"And I have one more thing for you too," Kioko said, reaching down to pick up something that had been beneath her seat. "Guess we had the same idea." With a dramatic flourish, she produced a crisp gray fedora.

I accepted the proffered item and looked it over with a feeling of amazement. I didn't know how much these things cost, but it must have been quite a bit of money. "Thanks, Kioko-chan! This looks incredi… ble."

Slowly looking up, I locked onto to Kioko's innocent looking face. "…Kioko-chan, why is there some hair on the inside of the hat?

"…Kioko-chan. Don't look away when I'm accusing of you of something." Ah well, I probably should have expected something like this, and it's not like it already being used would affect the quality any. I plopped it onto my head and relaxed with a smile. I'd accept it in the spirit it was given. And anyways, I'd always secretly wanted one.

"I'm glad to see you're doing better, Kado-kun." Kioko was still looking away from me as she spoke, and I couldn't help the small part of my mind that said how nice she looked from the side.

Swallowing, I asked "Huh? What do you mean?" I was doing fine earlier, wasn't I? After the whole thing was done and over with, there wasn't anything wrong, was there?

She shook her head, a slight smile on her face. "You're always like this. You kept on jerking around before and making weird motions to try and cover them up. You haven't done that at all this time."

She had noticed that? I mean, it wasn't a major deal or anything, but it still put me off my pace to know that she had seen something that I had tried to hide. "Kioko-chan, I-"

I fell silent as she held up a hand, still not facing me, just looking off into the distance. "Don't worry, Kado-kun. I'm not going to press for reasons. I have my troubles, and you have yours. But… I notice things too, and can't help but worry, you know."

She turned to me and I almost choked at seeing the sheer amount of compassion and caring in her eyes. "I might not know what you go through, but I still want to help. I want this relationship to go both ways as well."

No… that's not how it's supposed to be… That's staggering, but I don't need that, I just want to watch over and protect you. You and anybody else I can help, I don't want to see you hurt when you learn what happens. This is why I'm dangerous.

But then… Why can't I break away? Why do I still stay with her? I couldn't say a word as Kioko smiled at me, a sad smile, as if she understood but couldn't do anything. But that if she could, she would do _anything_ for me.

Like a tidal wave, the guilt swept back over me, engulfing me in secrets and lies, but with it came the determination. I wouldn't let her be hurt, I would keep her safe from everything, including me.

…So why didn't I want to leave her? Why did I want to stay by her side? Almost unbidden, a smile came to my own lips. "Yeah, I think I'd like that too."

I suppose… I am just that selfish after all. Someday I will have to break that bond between us, let her free to find her own happiness. But right now, I couldn't muster up the strength. I just wanted these days to go on a little longer.

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

"We have to rescue Asia!" I was incensed, the pitying looks the peerage carried not helping. So what if I was injured! I had promised to be Asia's friend, and friends don't let other friends be kidnapped!

Okay, it was too late for that one, but I was at least going to get her back. And I'd go alone if I had too, but I'd seen what Yuuma-Raynare could do, and I really wanted to have the others backing me up. But as I looked from face to face, not one would meet my eyes.

Buchou's face was in her hands, but she looked up eventually, her gaze on the table in front of her. "Didn't I already warn you about befriending the nun, Issei?" She sounded exhausted, but I couldn't let this go!

"You did, Buchou. But I'm friends with her now, and I can't just leave her with Raynare." I spoke as strongly as I could, trying to ignore the churning in my gut at the thought of what could be happening to Asia even as we waited. "We have to-"

"We don't _have_ to do anything, Issei," Rias said, still looking down and her voice cold. My throat dried up as I remembered how casually she had taken care of Vaizor. This was a _devil_ in front of me.

Rias continued, folding her arms and giving me a disapproving stare. "The nun has nothing to do with us. She was clearly a member of the fallen angels before, she's simply returned to them now."

I knew that Asia had been with the fallen angels, she'd tearfully confessed it to me that day in the park, along with her tragic past. And after hearing that, how could I abandon her? "I know, Buchou-" I started, but was quickly interrupted.

"You don't know anything!" Rias had shot up from her seat and was looking down on me now. I could clearly see a flicker of red in her eyes and it made my chest ache in hurt. "If we move against the fallen angels, it could set off another Great War!" She began pacing back and forth, clearly having already thought this through.

"This isn't just a scuffle, Ise! It could be an entire war! Millions of deaths, civilian and human casualties everywhere!" She turned to me, eyes burning and for once I didn't notice what the action did to her chest. "If I attack, it will be seen as an act of aggression by the entire devil race!"

That made no sense? How did one person attacking mean that the entire country was at fault? But she did seem serious, was this that big of a deal? I looked to the others in the room for some kind of hint, if Buchou was joking for some reason. Akeno was standing and looked somber, Koneko was calmly chewing on some chocolate candies, and Kiba was sitting in an armchair looking conflicted but not offering any kind of aid. I was on my own.

Buchou sat back down suddenly, drooping as she released a huge sigh. "I'm sorry, Issei, but it's simply not feasible. They could explain their actions as taking back a member of their group, while we would be seen as the instigators of the incident."

Was this the politics that dad was always warning me about? Maybe there was a loophole though. "So it's only a problem if you are the one attacking, right?"

Rias didn't answer, but Akeno spoke in her stead. "Due to her… unique position, Buchou is unable to make any signs of aggression. But not all of us are so constrained." That was what I thought! I still had a chance to rescue Asia!

I stood up and put a hand on my chest, mustering up my courage as much as I could. For Asia! "Then make me a stray, Buchou! I'll go and save her no matter what it takes!" I didn't want to leave the club, to leave the friends I'd made, but I would do whatever it took to save Asia!

The room was silent, and I imagined I could still hear the echo of my announcement in the air. The other occupants were speechless, staring at me with wide eyes. Then Buchou slapped her forehead, and mumbled out "This is what I get for trying to be subtle." Then she looked at me, making eye contact for the first time. "You're an idiot, Ise."

Huh? What did I do? Before I could object, Akeno was stepping forward. "Buchou herself can't go on the offensive, but as her servants, we are not so constrained. If we attack, Buchou can come and retrieve us, saying that it was all a mistake if necessary. It would negatively affect her reputation, but she would be able to come and save you if necessary."

So Buchou was trying to help? Why didn't she just say that? "But then wouldn't I still be facing them by myself? Didn't you not want that?"

Kiba stepped forward, clearing his throat. "Well, the plan was for Koneko and I to accompany you, ensuring that you could reach your friend unimpaired." Hearing her name, Koneko raised her head and made eye contact, shooting me a bland look, as if asking how I could be so stupid.

So they had planned this all without telling me? They were going to do it behind my back? I raised my hand as if I was in class. "So why not just all go up together instead of all this stealth and secrets stuff? Rias could still be hidden and then just come in when she needs to. It's not like we'd say anything about it."

Three pairs of eyes instantly shot to Rias, who looked a little sheepish from where she sat on the couch. "Rias~" "Buchou?" "…?"

The red-haired devil ducked her head, apparently embarrassed. Actually, that blush on her face was almost… erotic! Now that my mind was at ease, my heart was free to act as it desired! "Well," Rias coughed out. "I wanted to make sure that nothing tied it back to me. If it was discovered, than it all would have been for nothing."

Akeno reached down and gently patted Rias' hair, cooing "Aww, don't worry. You'll be able to sweep in and dramatically save Isssei-chan some other time."

The king immediately began spluttering out denials, even as Akeno thoughtfully tapped her chin and continued. "Perhaps I could even put him in some kind of… _danger_ you could save him from? I'm sure he'd enjoy it~"

"Stop harassing my pawn, Akeno!"

Kiba was laughing awkwardly in the corner while Koneko's eyes were going back and forth between Rias and Akeno like it was a tennis match. My own eyes were drawn in by the swinging masses as the argument got tenser and tenser. But there was something I had to say.

"Hey, guys?"

"What?" the two asked, whirling to face me. Calm down, Akeno, that anger-filled face is giving off your true self!

I swallowed and scratched my cheek, giving the widest smile I could. "Thanks! Now let's go save Asia!"

* * *

End AN: *Gives too-wide grin* Hiiii guys~

As much as I'm disappointed in my writing skills now, I'm still pretty pleased with how the chapter turned out. And apologies for anyone who liked Dohnaseek last chapter as much as I did. That said, I did have way too much fun killing him this chapter. Couple clues for future chapters this time around, hopefully I can pull them off properly. And yeah, Mittelt's dead for sure, but her body's off somewhere. I probably won't go into that at any point, because Freed is a sick sick freak, but it kinda seemed in character for him.

The first scene wasn't completely necessary, but it shows you why he's a bit happier in the apology scene, as well as explaining that he was planning on getting items for an apology so it's not confusing when that shows up in Kioko's scene. (Yeah, you got me. I basically wrote this entire chapter around that one scene. I regret nothing.)

As for Kioko's scene?

MWAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHA~

I really shouldn't have enjoyed writing that nearly as much as I did, but for some reason I loved letting Kioko's true self out to play. That's what she's like when she's not holding back. Part of that is her natural personality, part of it is due to Kado's influence, and the rest is other factors in her past I mentioned in this scene. But let it be said that Kioko can be _ruthless_ when she's got names inscribed on those silver bullets.

A quick note on the parentheses I use. I tend to use them to show inner thoughts that even the characters don't fully recognize, but I also try to use them slightly differently for each character. So for last chapter's Kioko, they tended to be focused on Kado since she was with him. Outside of his presence and focused on revenge, they're a whole 'nother story.

The apology scene has some plot-relevant points, but it was mainly to show how that ended up resolving. I get that normally problems like that in romance novels and even just regular novels usually take a lot longer to fix, but the two of them are teenagers and honestly regretful. Closest I can compare it to is when a misunderstanding in a romance novel actually gets explained the same day.

Also, I have no relationship experience as I have mentioned before, so this could totally be baseless.

Last scene is to explain Issei's side of things and how the church raid goes down slightly differently. Not a ton there except that Rias has a flair for the dramatic and Issei is slow on the uptake.

And if you're wondering where Asia's at, let me tell you. The church likes actual believers and isn't about to tell a murderer where a saint is.

See you guys next time!


	10. Turns Out the Police Exist

AN: HI GUYS EVERYTHING IS CAPITAL oh wait that was caps lock.

First announcement thingy, this chapter is the longest chapter to date so far! Hopefully that's not a bad thing, but I _really_ didn't want to spend an extra hour pulling (teeth) words out to thin it down. We're also winding down on the Asia Arc (at long last!)

Second, while writing the chapter last week, I wrote 2k words in the first day. Then I looked at it, realized it was useless and while I _could_ write it, it really wasn't plot relevant. So I deleted that, and wrote 400 words that day. As of now, I'm still 2k words short on the chapter. I'll try to catch up and stay a good few chapters ahead, but there _may_ be a delay in February if I keep losing progress like this.

Last thing and a semi-warning, there is a mention of Androphobia in this chapter, the fear of men. I am A: Male, B: Not dealing with Androphobia. I tried to do some research and be at least somewhat realistic, but if I didn't get it quite right, please know that I meant no offense.

Disclaimer: Honestly, if I wrote Highschool DxD, Issei would probably be asexual, as might a large part of the rest of the cast. I'm sure you're all glad it's not a shy teenager like me at the helm, huh.

* * *

It was evening by the time we actually left, Rias citing that as devils, we would be more powerful in the night. And since it turns out that Koneko had been keeping an eye on the situation previously, we knew that we'd be fighting four fallen angels, plus whatever exorcists there might be. So we would need all the power we could get.

We reached the abandoned church where Koneko had located the fallen angels past six-thirty at night, just after sundown. No lights were on, and there was no sign of life. But that didn't mean much.

As we moved forward, Buchou gave me one final piece of advice. "Keep in mind, Issei, that a pawn's strength is only truly shown in danger. When you are in the middle of enemy territory, you can use Promote. This ability allows you to choose whatever piece you want and use it's abilities as if you were that piece. Rook, knight, bishop, or even queen."

That actually gave rise to a few questions. Weren't pawns just as powerful as queens while fighting then? And if the queen had all the other attributes, why would the pawn ever pick something different? But we were already at the steps, and Buchou went to hide before I could ask her anything. But promotion, huh? Maybe being a pawn wasn't so bad.

As we walked up the steps together, I noticed that the stairs were cracked, but looked new. Like someone had just taken a hammer to them, instead of time. Wasn't this church supposed to be abandoned?

Then we reached the door and all froze. The large doors, instead of hanging on their hinges, were on the floor of the room, and we could see unmoving forms on the floor just inside. "I smell blood," Koneko said simply, and I felt a chill go up my spine. Something had happened here. Was Asia alright?

Stepping forward gingerly, the group soon came upon the downed and bleeding forms. Two fallen angels, judging by their extended wings, both dead with a small pool of dried blood by each one. This had happened hours ago.

A feeling of terror washed over me as I saw their sightless eyes, staring outwards in an expression of fear. I saw a door on the other end of the room and ran towards it, ignoring the shouts of the peerage behind me. I had to make sure Asia was okay! Bursting through the door, I found a hallway in front of me, lined by doors.

I tried the first door, and it opened into what was either a bedroom or torture chamber, sharp metal instruments lining the walls with an opulent bed as contrast in the center. Then I remembered Raynare and shuddered. It could easily be both.

The second door was locked, and I felt a spark of hope that Asia might have been locked in, safe from the murderer. "Asia!" I yelled, hoping it would reach through the door. No response. I tried again, and this time picked up a faint sound from within. Now certain that I had the right spot, I tried breaking the doorknob, hoping that my devil strength was enough.

When that failed, I remembered what Buchou had told me. "Promotion: Queen!" I tried, but nothing seemed to happen. Another attempt at the door proved that nothing had changed. Which meant this was no longer enemy territory. I felt a chill go through me at that, the idea that every person in the building was killed.

No, that was impossible. Asia still had to be alive! I was about to try ramming my shoulder into the firm door when a small soft hand stopped me. Koneko had appeared. She made a fist, and with laughably little effort, blew apart the doorknob, allowing me free entrance into the room.

I rushed in, not even pausing to thank the small girl. "Asia!" At first the room seemed bare, a single futon on the floor with no furniture of any kind in the room, but then I heard a noise coming from the closet. A muffled sob.

I almost tore open the door to find Asia seated on the floor of the closet, knees tucked to her chest and gazing up at me with watery eyes. "Is it… really you, Issei-kun?" I nodded shakily, trying to figure out how to comfort the girl.

She made the decision for me, leaping at me and tackling me to the ground, before winding her arms around me and beginning to cry, deep sobbing wails that made my chest vibrate. "I-I was sho shcaaared!" She wept, and all I could do was embrace her. She must have been in that closet for hours, unable to escape and not knowing if the murderer would come in and kill her too.

"I could hear them," Asia confessed, still dampening my shirt with her tears. "I could hear the screams." And I hadn't been able to protect her then, either. What kind of horrible friend was I.

I pulled her body closer to mine as we lay there. "Don't worry, Asia. I'll protect you. I'm here, and I won't leave again. I promise." Even as I said it though, I worried that I might not be able to keep this one. I'd broken the others, after all.

I don't know how long it was until the others found us, but it was Buchou's "What are you doing!" and Akeno's "Ara ara~" that made me realize that anyone was there at all. Turning, I could see them standing in the doorway, all looking downwards at me. Akeno was laughing, Rias looked upset, Kiba seemed apologetic, while Koneko was as uncaring as ever.

What were they upset about? It wasn't like I was doing anything wrong, I was just hugging Asia-

Then I realized what it might look like from an outward perspective and began stuttering to explain. "N-No, it's not what you think! I-I was just trying to-" Unable to respond against their varied stares, I tried sitting up and pushing Asia off me to prove that it was all normal, but immediately stopped when I felt her shaking limbs tighten again, and remembered why I was holding her.

Readjusting my hug to a slightly more comfortable position, I gave up and laid back onto the floor again, casting a glare at the people in the doorway. "Oh nevermind. Just go away, you jerks."

"No, no, this seems interesting," Akeno smiled, pointedly arranging her uniform and sitting down upon the floor, making it clear she wasn't planning on moving. Buchou plopped down right next to her, still seeming upset, while Kiba settled down in one corner and Koneko eagerly claimed the futon for herself, adjusting the blanket until she was comfortable.

Apparently they were actually there for a reason though, and I listened as they explained that there were no signs of any exorcists, although there had been some used rooms, they could only find three of the fallen angels, one being missing, and that Raynare was dead.

"I want to see the body," was my first reaction at hearing the last piece of information. I didn't know if it was lingering affection, a desire for revenge, or a need for closure, but I had to see how she ended.

"Impossible." I was instantly refuted by Buchou, who had her arms folded, showing how serious she was. And also how serious that _bust_ was…

"I need to see it for closure."

"I won't allow it."

"Why not? What's wrong with it?" I was starting to get annoyed by the constant rejections. What was so bad about me seeing the body? I'd already seen the other fallen angels, hadn't I? "What's wrong, Buchou? Why can't I see her?"

Rias opened her mouth to respond, but Kiba spoke up just before she did. "I think you should at least tell him, Buchou. You don't have to explain the details, but he deserves to know."

Biting her lip, the king considered for a moment before deciding on something. "Alright, I'll tell you." She took a deep breath before speaking again, and I couldn't help wondering how bad it was going to be. "She was still alive when we found her."

"What!" Asia stirred in my arms, shivering, and I quickly lowered my voice. "You mean you killed her?" I wasn't sure how I felt about that. Raynare had been an awful person, but I wasn't sure how I felt about hearing that Buchou had murdered her like that.

"No," Rias refuted strongly, "I _saved_ her." How did _that_ make any sense? She continued. "The enemy came specifically for Raynare. The other angels were killed relatively quickly, and we can't even find fatal wounds on them, they're simply gone. But Raynare was still alive when we found her. Think about that, Ise."

I did, and my breath caught in my throat. If you were specifically targeting someone, there was only one reason you would want to keep them alive. My mind flashed to being forced to helplessly watch Asia heal Kado while shedding tears.

As if in response to my thoughts, Asia finally spoke for the first time in minutes. "I'm… happy." Her voice was muffled, but I could hear what she said clearly. She looked up from my shirt and I finally realized something that I hadn't before, too distracted by her tears and sorrow. Her eyes were dead. They still held life and sorrow, but I could tell that something that made Asia so pure and innocent had died today.

The ex-nun went on, staring into my eyes unblinkingly. "I don't think that anyone should be…" she hesitated, clearly unsure of saying the word, before simply moving on. "But I am glad that she suffered. I shouldn't be, but I am." Her head dropped back to my chest again, saying one final statement. "It's divine retribution, I suppose." Then she fell silent once again.

The others had clearly heard it as well, but they hadn't known the young nun like I had, and the apparent change in her shook me deeply. I was extremely glad that Asia was alive, but I mourned for what she had lost. Was this what the supernatural world was like?

I suppose that is the truth of this world. That we all lose. The group sat in silence for a time, nothing more really needing to be said. Asia was safe, the fallen angels were defeated, and nobody had died this time. Which was a step up from the last few encounters, honestly. (coughKadocough)

Buchou cleared her throat, throwing me out of the contemplative mood I was. "So the next question is, what are we going to do with…" she didn't finish, but her hand motion towards Asia was clear enough. But why did something have to be done? Obviously I was going to take care of her, what else needed to be said.

Then a lightbulb went off and I narrowed my eyes at the red-haired girl. "Is this about Asia being a nun? Because there's no way I'm abandoning her after all that she's been through, no matter what she used to be."

Rias raised a hand defensively, cutting me off. "That's not it." Then she seemed to reconsider and winced slightly. "Well partially. But the fact is, we're devils, so it's extremely unusual to have human affiliates, unless they are magicians." She shrugged, as if there was nothing she could do, although Kiba had a slightly uncomfortable look on his face that I could see from the corner of my eye.

"She would have to keep her distance from the peerage, and that's if the Maous don't get involved," she finished. Where did devil kings come from?! But there was a bigger problem. What would happen to Asia if she didn't stay around me? Would she just be cast off into the world without somewhere to go or a place to live?

Asia, for the first time in minutes, pushed away from my chest. "You have room in your peerage for a bishop, don't you?" the girl asked, pressing a hand to her chest and looking at the king defiantly. She was serious. But she believed in God, didn't she? Was it really alright to just leave that and become a devil?

"Asia-chan, you-"

The girl turned her head to look at me with the same eyes, but with a spark of fire in them. "Please, Issei-kun. This is important," she pleaded. How could I say anything to that face? I just gritted my teeth as Asia resumed speaking to Rias.

"I am the bearer of the sacred gear Twilight Healing." She manifested the rings as proof, but I knew it was unnecessary. I had told Rias previously that Asia had healed Kado, and was forced to confess about Twilight Healing when pressed. I regretted that now, that Asia was forced to do something like this just to survive.

But Asia didn't know that, and could have kept it a secret. She'd told me how hard it was for her because God had given her the gear, and now she was throwing herself into the same scenario. Wasn't she afraid the same thing would happen again? But I kept quiet, like Asia had asked me to, just waiting tensely for the resolution. She had made her choice and I would respect that, so long as it would make her happy.

"So," Asia wrapped up, "I beg you to allow me to be a member of your peerage. I will serve you as well as I can, so long as I can remain close to Issei-kun." My fists tightened as she spoke, recognizing that she was giving up her life in the church and any hope she might have had for redemption, just so she could stay with me. What had I done to deserve her affection?

Then I saw Rias' smile and realized that if Asia hadn't offered herself, Rias would have mentioned the possibility herself. She was _using_ Asia to add Twilight Healing to her peerage. But I took another look at Asia's face and buried the feelings. This was Asia's choice, and I didn't want to let her go either. If I forced her to rescind the offer, she would be even worse off, and I wouldn't be able to protect her.

And there was a part of me that was already rejoicing at having another cute girl like Asia in the peerage. There could never be enough beautiful women around me. Never.

"I would be delighted to bring you into my peerage," Rias declared, reaching into her uniform to produce a red bishop piece that looked a lot like the one that she had used on Kado when resurrecting him, but naturally a different shape.

I tried one last time, just in case. "Are you sure you want to do this, Asia-chan?"

She turned a smile to me, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Of course, Issei-kun. This way, I can always be with you." How could I respond to that? In the end, all I could do was stay silent and watch as the piece was implanted, Asia becoming a devil with two bat-like wings sprouting from her back at the conclusion, solid proof that the act was complete.

I was happy that I would be able to stay with Asia, but I also couldn't help but feel sad, that we'd lost something that couldn't be won back. So even as I scooped Asia up into a big hug and congratulated her, I still felt like this wasn't a victory at all.

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

I was feeling pretty cheerful by the time I got home, which naturally meant it was time for the world to kick in and do what it does best. Turns out that when you miss an entire day of school, something that I had never done before, the faculty calls your home to make sure your parents are aware of your educational infidelity.

And in Kuoh academy, you quickly learned that "the faculty" equals "Shitori-kaichou." I don't know exactly what was said on the phone, but it resulted in dad grilling me for exactly what I had done out of school and if I had any proof with an almost panicked expression.

He calmed down considerably after I explained that a friend from school had a date and I was accompanying them, offering to call them if he needed further proof. Normally dad was a lot more relaxed with these kinds of things, and I could only assume Souna had them practically convinced that I was stealing or smoking or something.

Seriously, what did that girl have against me? Then again, according to Souna's directions, dad called back to report that I hadn't been up to any kind of crime. He hung up the phone a few minutes later with a confused expression on his face and told me "She says she needs proof before excusing anything, and you're going to need to explain tomorrow at school."

At this point I knew something was up. Did any other students have to go through this kind of harassment? In the end, all I could was agree and then head off to sleep after a quick dinner of instant noodles, with something else to look forward to the next day.

And the actual school day didn't go much better than I expected. I had barely walked through the school gate when Shinra Tsubaki, the vice-president of the student council stepped in front of me, stopping my progress.

"Kai Kado-san?" she asked, already looking straight at me. Then she went on, not waiting for a response. "You are expected to arrive in the student council room at twelve sharp. Kaichou will be waiting for you." Then she walked off, expecting that I would simply do whatever she said.

Which I would, to be honest. There was no way that I was going to oppose the student council like that, not when Souna already had me on a thin rope as it was. It still rankled me that she didn't care if it was a good time for me or not, I was _expected_ at the proper time.

The other point is the fact that she addressed me in the middle of the main student thoroughfare, making it sound like I was in trouble, possibly headed to expulsion. And judging by the effectiveness of the Kuoh rumor mill I had already experienced, by lunch I would have killed two people and Souna would have become the heroic detective who caught me in the act.

Time and place, Tsubaki! And this was neither one! But there wasn't anything I could do except heave a sigh and heft my bag slightly higher up on my shoulder before leaving the gate area to find Kioko. Hopefully she'd be able to calm me down.

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

Turns out she wasn't able to, since she never showed up in all the time that I waited for her. In the end I had to head off to class unsure of where she was. It wasn't quite to the point of needing to call her and verify her location though. She could have just slept in or been late for some other reason, and the call would be completely unnecessary.

Didn't keep me from worrying though.

Classes were about the same as usual, with the exception of both the male and female population of the class being convinced that I was either a manly-man or a pervert, depending on their gender.

Fighting it wouldn't do anything, so I just sat and ignored it as best I could, taking notes and lightly doodling in my notebook. It wasn't until the end of class that I realized what I had somehow drawn. I was no artist, and my sketches tended towards the stick-figure side of the scale for the most part, but on the page in front of me was something that looked like a cave wall, with a mess of blank lines carved into it that looked both random and beautiful.

Absently reaching into my school bag, I produced my set of colored pencils and began to fill in the empty lines, never using a pencil for more than a few strokes before switching to a different color. I didn't know where it was coming from, but it just seemed right to have it like this. Pattern in chaos, perfect imperfection.

I only really came back to my senses when I felt a firm hand on my shoulder and looked up to see the history teacher, Chisaro Rakurai, looking worriedly down at me. "Are you all right, Kai-san? I tried calling out to you, but you didn't respond. Do you need to visit the infirmary?"

The words were entering my ears, but I couldn't quite seem to hear them properly. With a shake of my head, they seemed to fall into place with a click, and I realized that I was still in class. And hadn't it been science last time I looked up? I sat up straighter and realized the muted giggling around me, classmates of both genders apparently enjoying seeing me get into trouble.

"Sorry, Chisaro-sensei. I just got caught up in my drawing, I guess. I didn't miss much, did I?" I rubbed the back of my head to add to the effect, hoping I wasn't in too much trouble. I already had enough on my plate.

The teacher glanced at my paper and his eyes widened slightly at seeing the drawing that took up almost half a sheet of paper by this point, before wrinkling into a frown. "While that is admirable, I would encourage you to hone your skills during art class. Luckily class has just begun, but please pay attention."

I did as he requested, pulling out the notebook I used for history notes, but before I put away the other one with the drawing in it, I glanced at the picture once more and had a strange impulse to color the previously gray background in a bright shade of red, virtually the only color I hadn't used so far.

Resisting the urge, I closed the notebook, slipping it back into my bag. Class was more important right now. It didn't help the feeling tickling at the back of my head for the next few hours though. That or the strange glimpses of red I would get when I closed my eyes.

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

At eleven-thirty I packed up my bags along with the rest of my classmates, and figured I had enough time to check and see if Kioko had made it to school after all before eating lunch and still making it to my appointment with the student council at twelve.

That was the moment that Hyoudou Issei ran into the room looking panicked. He skidded to a stop just inside the door and looked around frantically. I briefly entertained the thought of ducking under my desk for cover, but the brown-haired boy had already spotted me by that point, and it was too late to choose.

"Kai-san!" He came barreling down the aisle and stood panting at my desk. "Kai-san, have you seen Motohama and Matsuda?"

See, it wasn't that I didn't like Issei. He really was a great young man, if one without enough self-control. But you see, Hyoudou has a certain reputation in Kuoh. And I mean the city, not the school. I could already hear the whispers around me, the precursors of the tornado that would inevitably erupt from something like this happening. To put it shortly, I was now dead to the female populace of Kuoh high.

I turned to him with a sigh, putting a look on my face that said he'd better understand what I was giving up because of this conversation. "I'm guessing that you mean your two friends that you are usually with?" I tried to stay far away from the whole mess, so it was understandable that I didn't know what their names were.

It seems that I had guessed right though, since Issei was already frantically nodding before I even finished talking. "Yeah! I usually meet up with them a little before lunch to do… stuff, but they weren't there today!"

I could guess what he meant, and blessed all the gods that he hadn't directly blurted out the planned activity. Luckily enough, using it like that didn't seem to give me a headache, unlike the singular "G," so I guessed I was using it from now on. Hopefully He wasn't the jealous type.

Before I could respond to Issei's question by telling him that I had no idea where the other two were, and maybe they had just beaten him to the punch, another body inserted itself into the small area where we were already standing. Ashida, the same guy who had started off the whole rumor mess before.

"Hey there, I didn't mean to interrupt," Liar. "-but you guys weren't here yesterday, right? There was a whole big thing that went on yesterday. The police were involved and everything. You sure you guys haven't heard anything?" His large shaved head looked from me to Issei and back again, honestly asking.

Both me and Issei froze at his innocent comment, the same thing running through our minds. Perverts who had been illegally peeping on students for over a year were only _now_ being picked up by the police? And on a day where Issei happened to be gone? There was definitely something else happening here.

"What do you mean the police came here? What did the police do!" Okay, so maybe me and Issei weren't quite on the same page. The sole remaining pervert looked like he was almost begging, a distraught look in his eyes. Did this really mean that much to him?

Ashida just scratched his head and looked thoughtful before speaking. "Well they came and arrested the two other guys you mentioned. Caught them right in the act too, peeping on the swimming club."

Issei's face had gone chalk white. Did he finally realize how important his actions actually were? That they had real consequences? Then he erupted. "Those jerks!" He yelled, shaking a fist. "We were supposed to do that today! They went without me!"

Well, Issei, you just keep surprising me. I really don't think that's a good thing in this case. I took over, bringing my classmate's attention over to me. "Why is Issei still here then? Didn't they say anything about him?"

It was only too late that I realized I'd just referred to Issei by first name, and without honorifics at that. It was just a slip of the tongue, "Hyoudou" feeling wrong, but that wouldn't matter to the gossip-hungry piranha that were indigenous to high school.

Even Ashida cast me an odd look as he answered my question. "Yeah, that's the strange part. The two that got arrested tried selling Hyoudou here out," he jerked a thumb at Issei, just in case I didn't know who he was talking about. "But that didn't do much. A couple more people came up to them and told them there was a third one as well, but all the police would say is that they didn't have any evidence."

If I hadn't been sure before, I was positive now. And it had Shitori-kaichou's fingerprints all over it. From the earlier meeting I had with her, she hadn't seemed like the kind of person who would allow rampant perversion like the trio had blatantly carried out. Apparently she had just been waiting for the right moment. Probably for Issei to be recruited. But if she had been resisting expelling the group for that long, how long had the devils had their eye on Issei for recruitment.

A chill ran up my spine as I realized that this was far bigger than I had thought. And why did they want Issei so badly when the only thing that was really special about him was his perverted nature. Even his sacred gear, his special ability, was something described as weak and common.

There was something else going on here, and I was just missing it.

"So they're in jail now?" Issei asked incredulously, his face at least returning to a more natural shade. "We've got to do something! Friends don't let other friends get kidna-arrested!"

…There were so many things wrong with that statement. Before I could launch into an explanation of why exactly the young devil shouldn't try and start a jail break, I was once again interrupted by Ashida. "Relax! They're minors, so they can't be held in jail. Just fined, given a restraining order, placed under house arrest, given an ankle tracker, and expelled from Kuoh!"

Issei, who had begun to brighten at the beginning of the statement, rapidly began to fall back into depression as Ashida continued. "B-But, it wasn't that bad, was it? I-I mean, we didn't…"

He trailed away and the short-cropped classmate gleefully picked up the slack in the conversation. "Why not? Peeping is a class 1 misdemeanor, and while that isn't too awful, with sufficient repetitions it becomes a class 1 _felony_ , which means it's equal with murder or severe robbery."

The taller boy hammered his point home by poking Issei in the chest several times, finally losing his almost permanent smile. "You and your _buddies_ were committing serious crimes and it's honestly a shock how you guys weren't arrested years ago. I know that we have had dozens of female students reporting your actions to the police in _tears_ because they feel so dirty that they were seen by you three!"

His voice was easily a shout by the end of his tirade and it looked like his probing finger was about to poke a hole through Issei's school uniform. The rest of the room was dead silent.

The boy coughed awkwardly, as if just realizing how incensed he'd gotten. "Sorry about that," he said, retracting his finger. "My dad's in the force, and I've heard a lot about you guys and all the harm you cause. I promised myself I'd be a bit more open-minded if I actually met you, try not to judge from rumors and stuff. Guess I was a little more upset than I thought."

Huh, surprisingly, this guy wasn't that bad. I suppose it would be all right to forgive him for inadvertently starting the rumor about me and Kioko. Then he turned to me with the guileless smile on his face once again. "Don't you need to be at the student council so they can talk to you about your inappropriate activities?"

Don't state it like it's a fact, darn it! With a quick check of the wall clock, it was too late to try and find Kioko before the meeting. It would have to wait until afterwards. Grimacing, I wished both Ashida and Issei the best of luck and half-meant it, before heading to the student council offices.

The offices were at the top of the third floor because of _course_ they were. Not to mention tucked away into the farthest portion of the school from the stairs, as if to ensure that you had the longest walk possible to reflect on your crimes.

Which resulted in me walking as fast as I can through the corridors, since I didn't want to risk a member of the council popping up from the woodwork and slapping corporal punishment on me for the infraction of daring to _run_ in the holy halls of school.

Finally pushing open the door that _must_ have been carefully regulated to squeak that loudly, I was in a room that was, as always, tastefully decorated with bright paintings and vases that looked like they might have been from a museum with how priceless they seemed.

What _was_ new to the room was the dark gloom that the room was shrouded in, each window closed and covered with thick black curtains. My devil vision kicked in instantly so there was no difficulty seeing the room, but the change in brightness was still a little odd. The feeling was enhanced by the fact that one of the heavy curtains was open just enough to send a ray of sunshine upon a single wooden chair positioned in front of the mahogany desk that Souna used.

While to most people it would have been a picturesque scene, to a devil like me it was as good as saying they were going to be torturing me. That had to be a threat, right? I mean, Souna was a devil too, she had to know what that meant.

I carefully edged into the room, still seemingly absent of life or unlife courtesy of any devil-presidents or the student council that usually surrounded her. This entire setup was just screaming "trap" to me, and I realized that perhaps going into territory like this without any kind of protection was a _really bad idea_.

"Close the door, Tsubaki." A voice rang out from the dark and I did a double-take at the previously empty chair behind the president's desk which now had the figure of Shitori-kaichou sitting regally in it.

And right afterwards, my head swiveled to the door just in time to see the portal sliding shut behind me before the long-haired noirette turned the lock with a click that was clearly audible in the nearly silent room.

Well, that wasn't ominous _at all_. Locked door, covered windows possibly reinforced with magic, and more reinforcements that could be hiding. I had no offensive capabilities, and Souna didn't seem like the type to want to talk things out peacefully. Talk things out viciously, maybe.

"Kai-san." Souna's voice rang out once again and I faced her again, taking note of her clenched jaw and furrowed brow. She was _not_ happy. "Please take a seat." She motioned towards the chair seated in the sole beam of sunlight. Because of course she did.

Well, if I was going to go out anyway, I might as well do it right. Tucking my hands into the pockets of my uniform, I looked the president in the eyes and said "I'd rather stand, thank you very much. I don't exactly trust you right now."

Meanwhile, my left hand opened up the phone in the pocket as stealthily as it could, pressing the lump into my leg to hide the glow. Souna's face didn't change as she repeated the statement. "Kai-san. Please take a seat."

Eh, why not. My thumb hovered over the middle button of the tiny keyboard of my phone, before I changed my mind and closed the device. "Sorry, kaichou, but over my dead body." Then pulling my hands out of my pockets, I made an exaggerated show of shock and spread my arms wide. "Oh wait, that's what it _would_ be if I sat in the chair!"

The temptation to speed-dial Kioko was still there. I had an idea of what she could do, and if this went south like I was sure it was going to, having her with me would be a great help. But I didn't want to pull her into this if it turned out to be something she couldn't handle. I didn't think being able to understand rocks and trees would help her against a fully formed peerage willing to kill.

I heard a snort from the shadows and another figure impossibly materialized with folded arms and an unimpressed expression. "Oh quit being so dramatic, a little sunlight won't kill you. It'll be uncomfortable at worst." The figure had red hair done in pigtails and brown eyes. She was in the track club, wasn't she? I hadn't ever seen her in the student council before.

Raising an eyebrow at the girl, I took a few steps forward and held my hand out into the beam of light, fighting to keep a wince from breaking out on my face. Nothing happened and the girl opened her mouth to say something, a derogatory look in her eyes, but I held up my other hand, the fingers counting down. "Three… Two… One…"

On cue, a slight wisp of smoke began to rise from my outstretched hand. Seeing the girl's eyes widen, I retracted my hand and quickly blew on it, hoping to cool the overheated flesh. It was red and stung like crazy, but I knew the burns were only skin deep and would heal before too long. It's not like I would have a weakness to something as common as _sunlight_ without doing a bit of experimentation.

"You are a dangerous man." Turning away from the still-shocked red-head, I continued to blow on my hand as I looked back to Souna, who had spoken. "Hmm? What do you mean?" I noticed with a slightly detached sense of fear that even more bodies were apparently melting out of nowhere. It was probably some kind of spell for camouflage, but _man_ was it creepy to see them popping into existence.

"Most people would simply say that they had a severe adverse reaction to sunlight," Souna continued. Her brow had relaxed somewhat and it now looked like she was studying me instead of planning to kill me. "You, on the other hand, simply placed your hand directly into it for a demonstration. That kind of thinking is dangerous."

Shaking my hand to get some of the feeling back, I said, "Well it's not like you would have believed me if I'd told you. And I really don't want to be in a position of weakness anyway when you've got me surrounded like this."

"So you damaged your main method of fighting to keep from being in a position of weakness." I could hear amusement in the voice, but couldn't pinpoint it to the figure it came from. Either the short one with brown twintails or the one with ringlets.

"Well it's not like I'd be able to actually fight off all of you if I tried," I easily confessed. "But I'd rather not do anything that would slow down my best asset." I tapped my legs to make my point and heard a snort of laughter from the red-haired girl. Maybe I'd be able to talk through this after all.

"Regardless, that was not the reason I asked you here today," the central figure said, standing from her seat and walking around to the front of the desk. Drat, never mind. "Tsubaki, the area is secured with no chance of being seen, correct?" Was this a spy film? Because this felt like a spy film right now, one of the ones that went wrong and the main character died gruesomely.

The previously silent queen responded. "Yes, Kaichou. The barrier is secure." And there went my backup plan of trying for a window. I mean, I could _probably_ survive a three-story drop and they wouldn't be able to hurt me with witnesses. So that meant my best option was taking a hostage. Which was still ridiculously low.

Souna straightened, taking a deep breath, and I mentally readied to try taking off towards her peerage if needed. The brunette with braids looked like she might be the easiest to take by surprise, possibly a bishop.

Then Shitori Souna, the highest ranking official of Kuoh Academy, slowly began to bend her body with her hands clasped on front of her, as if she was a rusted gear slowly grinding down. I just stared, wary of some kind of trick, until her upper body was at about a sixty-degree angle and stopped.

"I… Sona Sitri," Oh man, it sounded like she was biting this out through gritted teeth. Was this going to be a duel request or something? "Heiress to the Sitri clan," and wasn't her name Shitori? Was that a fake name? I mentally shelved that for later as she continued. "…Humbly beg… forgiveness for my wrongful assumptions and…" she paused for a moment before the rest came rushing out in a flood of words. "Offer-a-boon-as-sincerity!"

In shock, I merely stared, still barely comprehending what she had said for a moment. The president slowly straightened and I saw a gleam of sweat on her brow just before she stumbled, a knee buckling. I stepped forwards, but before I could begin to cross the distance, two girls were behind Souna in an instant, helping support her weight as the prideful devil sagged into their arms.

What. The heaven. Just happened.

Clicking out of analysis mode I, ironically, tried to analyze what had happened. I had been invited alone, a barrier around the room and what I assumed the entire peerage in the room. They weren't there as a threat, they were there for _moral support_.

Oh gods, she was afraid of men, wasn't she. Especially _devil_ men, since her attitude only got worse once I was turned. I didn't even want to think of what could have caused that particular fear, but I had the urge to punch whoever had instilled it in her.

Things seemed to click into place after that, and I slowly walked over to where six girls including the vice-president were all clustered around their king, providing comfort and protection. I came to a stop a few steps from the outside of the huddle, and dipped into a low bow of my own, all too aware of the suspicious gazes from the females before me.

"I humbly accept the Sitri clans apology," whatever _that_ was, "and extend forgiveness for the perceived slight. I will kindly refuse the boon though, as I have not earned any such thing." This could be a tricky thing, since often rejecting gifts was a sign of rejecting the offer itself, but I couldn't imagine that kaichou would be able to sleep soundly knowing a man held something like that over her head.

I heard muttering from the girls in front of me, but kept my head lowered and did my utmost to block out what they were discussing. The talk was cut short though, as a labored voice spoke. "I… am afraid I cannot let you do that." Souna, or apparently Sona, still tried to speak, as weak as she was.

The peerage immediately rose their voices in protest, but were quieted by their leader. "The Sitri Clan is one of the original seventy-two pillars and has immense political power in the underworld." Well that was a statement loaded with information if I ever heard one. "I have done you a great disservice and must offer this in repentance." Then for the first time since I had walked into the room, her voice lost the haughty, regal tone I was used to hearing from her. "And for Faust's sake, raise your head."

I did as requested, muffling the smile that wanted to break out on my face. The fact that she had lost the formal tone meant this was no longer Shitori-kaichou. I was actually talking to Sona Sitri, a person I hadn't even known existed before this.

"Sorry, Kaichou, but I really can't accept it. I have no need for any kind of boon when I did nothing to-" I was cut off by the girl in question hefting herself back onto her own feet, shooing some of her peerage away, and shooting a glare in my direction.

"Oh be quiet for a moment, will you." I fell silent as commanded, feeling the urge to smile grow larger. "I get it, you don't want to have any kind of power over me, that's the kind of person that you are."

Sona interpreted my skeptical eyebrow raise correctly, rolling her eyes. "You don't think I would actually do something like this for just anybody, did you? I've insulted far more people than just you in this school, and I had to be completely sure about you before even _seeing_ you again, much less doing something like an _apology_."

Honestly, it was admirable how long Sona had held her head high while in a position like student council president. It also finally answer the question of why the entire student council was female. "And respond, will you?" Sona snapped, freeing one of her hands from Tsubaki's grasp and lifting herself to sit on the edge of her desk. "It feels like I'm talking to a statue with you just standing there."

I finally let the smile bloom on my face, positive that Sona wouldn't see it as some kind of threat or mockery at this point. Meanwhile her peerage were staring back and forth between me and their king, as if seeing some kind of rare species they didn't know existed before.

"Righto, Kaichou. You are correct that I don't want to leave something like that floating around, but it's also true that I don't need any kind of boon." True that, but I certainly wouldn't turn down a lifetime supply of bookstore gift cards either.

"And I can't accept it back, so it looks like we're at an impasse, aren't we," the fierce girl shot back. I could tell by the look in her eyes that she didn't really want to offer it in the first place, but that her pride wouldn't let her back down with it anything but fully satisfied.

Well, let's hope this wouldn't trigger anything. "Ah, but I have already received a boon from you and by extension the Sitri Clan." I went for a dramatic sweeping bow, hoping that the exaggeration would lower the impact of the words some. "I received the gift of being the only male that Sona Sitri has ever apologized to, and that is something worth a thousand boons."

I held the pose for a moment before hearing a burst of laughter from before me. I raised my head to see Sona laughing unrestrained, while rolling her eyes. "Aha, laying it on a little thick, aren't you!" Another fit of laughter erupted before her mirth seemed to subside. "Very well, I will accept the debt paid in full then." Then she tilted her head, cheeks still stained red from laughter, and gave me the first smile I had ever seen the stiff president make. "And call me Sona, will you?"

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

I let my muscles loosen as the door closed behind Kai, slumping down and releasing a long sigh. The room was immediately filled with Tomoe and Ruruko's clamoring, Momo and Reya's concerned questions, Tsubaki and Tsubasa's silent worry that was almost palpable, and Christie's calm that was almost as telling as her usual frosty outrage.

Holding up a hand, I waited for silence, though it didn't stop Reya and Tsubaki from patting me down as if to check that I was still whole. Once there was a degree of silence in the room, I spoke. "Yes, that just happened. No, you shouldn't kill him."

The old familiar joke caused a ripple of laughter in the girls, but it was tinged with a sense of tension. Their king had just been in a position of weakness with a male, and their instincts, created from their own experiences and my worries were telling them to remove the threat to me.

I wouldn't hold it against them since I felt much the same. Already, I was holding myself back from taking the easy road out, from simply hunting down and _butchering_ the man that had not only gazed upon me, but that I had shown my true self that I normally hid behind thick walls and thicker pride.

And yet there was a barrier keeping the flood from overtaking me and my actions. My sister's voice, from years ago, tinged with worry and muffled through a locked door. "You'll be living your life in fear, So-tan. I don't want you to spend your life like that."

It was time I stopped letting fear rule my life. "We discussed this previously, and we all agreed." A few rebellious looks had me amending my statement. "Well, _eventually_ agreed. Under duress. And two of you weren't here so we voted in your absence, but still."

A cloth wiped sweat from my brow and I thanked Momo for her consideration before continuing. "Something has to change eventually. I know that I have my own… issues with men, but I always feel like that is keeping the rest of you from pursuing interests that some of you may have."

My keen eye caught a few furtive glances to the sides and shuffling feet at that pronouncement, enough evidence even if I hadn't already noticed the signs. "No matter how badly I want to ensure that none of you are ever hurt, I cannot make that choice for you, and do not wish to hold you back from the true happiness that you may find."

A sardonic smile slipped to my lips. "Goodness knows I have enough problems without dragging the rest of you along with me." More denials and oaths of loyalty were shouted, but I had heard them enough times, and wanted this to be something new. "And so," I said over the hubbub, "consider this being my first step to at least being able to function properly around men without shutting down into a cold wall of ice." Oh if only I had _half_ the casual social skills of my sister.

"Any other comments about the situation, or shall we return to our work." My gaze drifted from one side of the crowd to the other, searching their faces for signs of discontentment. Tsubasa had a stormy look on her face, while Tsubaki seemed worried, but neither one of the main opposition to my plan spoke up vocally.

Momo seemed nervous but determined, Tomoe seemed oddly excited while Ruruko looked practically vicious. The final two, Christie and Reya, had very different expressions on their faces though. Reya seemed oddly pensive for her usual shy demeanor, but she had always been one of the most vocal for new experiences.

As Christie and I locked eyes though, the yuki-onna stepped forward, clearing her throat with an almost musical sound. This instantly drew the attention of every pair of eyes in the room. The quiet woman rarely spoke, and when she did it was always her true feelings on a topic.

"I am, as of yet, unsure of the exact nature of men in general," she began. The yuki-onna tribe were nomadic women who traveled around snowy mountain ranges searching for potential husbands, so Christie was still unused to men in general, approaching them with an air of curiosity instead of fear.

"But," she continued, "I do believe that this Kado is a trustworthy one. He is fearless and does not seem to be searching for his own personal gain." Huh, that was more than the reticent girl usually said.

An idea popping into my head, I narrowed my eyes at the white-haired girl. "This isn't about how he stuck his hand into sunlight, is it?" Yuki-onnas had a natural aversion to sunlight, and that increased by the natural devil weakness meant that sunlight was extremely painful for Christie. Seeing someone else so casually place endure the same pain must have struck a chord in her.

The snow-woman's expression didn't change, but her head turned to the side just slightly and she began playing with one of her ringlets. "Of course not, my kind chooses their husband by much more refined methods." She paused, gazing off into space musingly. "…It does offer a certain sense of fearlessness though, does it not?"

…Not my problem. Clearing my throat, I tried to move on. "Well, since we at least do not have vocal protest, we shall consider the matter adjourned and prepare for our next appointment." Hyoudou Issei was coming in next for a discussion about what Rias had informed me happened last night, and I would have to be in top form to stand up to him.

The various members returned to their previous positions, ready to protect or attack as needed, and activated the invisibility spells I had taught each of them. As I passed by Christie's position on the way to my own chair, I heard her say musingly "I wonder if he would so easily place his hand into cold as well…"

Not. My. Problem.

* * *

End AN: Waaaay back in chapter... I wanna say 5? When I first introduced Sona and had the idea of her Androphobia, I realized that having Saji as part of the peerage simply _would not happen_. So I tried to figure out who an alternative would be, besides simply removing the character altogether. Come over a month later and writing this chapter, where I panicked and literally just looked up the list of minor characters on the DxD wiki.

So meet Christie, a character from a DxD side story, who was a Yuki-Onna. Better known and recognized as Yetis, giant muscles and hair included. So I tossed that and made Yuki-Onna closer to what it is in the myths, and she's replacing Saji with the same number of pawns, so Sona still has four left unused. She's cold, both physically and emotionally, but is still loyal to Sona. (#Backstory~)

Another effect that I tried to get across of Sona being different is that she is colder to the general populace of the school, but much warmer and closer to her peerage, which is something I tried to get across in the writing, mostly by how she almost always refers to her peerage members by name. I also have backstories that probably aren't canon for most of them.

Another big change and something that honestly confused me in canon is how in the world Sona, for how straight-laced she is, allowed the Perverted Trio to even _step_ onto campus. So I made it a bit more realistic I think, where Sona's simply been biding her time due to Rias' request to keep them around just in case they had a sacred gear. So once Issei is part of Rias' peerage, Sona has no reason to let the rest stay. I also looked up the Class 1 felony bit, and it's what I could figure out it would equal to in America, but I'm not so confident that's what it would be in Japan. I do know that peeping like that is _definitely_ illegal and would face criminal charges.

Asia's still a part of Rias' peerage, but this isn't just to stick with canon. I honestly considered what she would do, but I figured that in her current mental state, ( _unhealthy_ , by the way) she would latch onto Issei and join the peerage to stay close. Something that Rias did bank on, but if Asia hadn't wanted to join, she wouldn't have forced her.

And nope, I'm not saying what Kioko did to Raynare. Simply put, Rias was doing her a favor.

Hermedy herm, I can't really think of anything else to mention in this chapter. Not very much Kioko in this chapter, but that will be remedied in the next chapter. See you then!


	11. A3 and Sunk Your Battleship

AN: Orlo!

Kind of a short chapter this time, only 7.2k words, but it finally wraps up the Fallen Angel/Asia arc! Huzzah! It only took 11 chapters and probably about 60k. Apologies on how late this chapter is, but I ended up being really busy today and barely had enough time to edit this before getting it out. (Still Monday so it counts!)

It's a bit of a filler chapter, but I wanted to wrap up a few plotlines in preparation for the next arc. I can see some plot relevance in each scene though, even if it's just character development for future arcs. (I have _plaaaaans~_ lame ones, but plans none-the-less.)

Another announcement, I might be taking a break for this story during February. I've got at least four other stories that I wrote up a 500 word prologue for, but I just didn't have time to really work on them. So I'll work on INtP, (All the cool kids are acronyming their story names!) just slower, while taking time to work on other stories. So hopefully I'll have a 5 chapter lead on this story when I start publishing on the first Monday of March.

This isn't set in stone though. I've wanted to work on my other stories for a while, but if I get something really cool happening in this one or I miss all your lovely comments (*cricket cricket*) then I'll publish a chapter. Hope this works out alright, and see you guys in about a month!

Warning: Akeno being Akeno and Kioko being Kioko because I am apparently incapable of writing wholly sane characters.

Disclaimer: If I suddenly gained ownership over Highschool DxD, I would first scream because WHY and then laugh because MONEY and then scream again because WHY.

* * *

Glancing at the clock on the wall of the hallway as I left the student council offices, I grimaced, recognizing that there was just barely enough time to check on Kioko before classes started, but not nearly enough to actually eat lunch. Well, looked like I'd be going hungry during classes today.

Heading down the stairs, I found Kioko's class and poked my head in through the door. There were kids chatting with friends over lunchboxes, but I couldn't see Kioko's blonde hair anywhere in the room and there was no teacher either.

I pushed open the door and asked "Excuse me? Can anyone tell me if Horikawa Kioko was in class today?" Heads turned to face me instantly with most having the same reaction. Namely, recoiling in one way or another.

You've got to be kidding me. What is up with the insanely high power of that rumor! There was a moment of awkward silence before someone lazily raised a hand. A lanky black-haired boy with lazy brown eyes. "Relax, Horikawa-san was here by second hour."

A fist slammed on a desk near the back of a room and a girl with long red hair stood up with a vicious glare. "Quiet, Souya! Who knows what this guy wants? You've heard it, right! Don't be so friendly with a womanizing pervert like him!"

Actually, I vastly preferred that to the general shrinking back from most of the females in the classroom. It at least gave me something to respond to.

I lazily raised a hand. "Hi, sorry to bother you, womanizing pervert here. So, you are referring to the baseless rumor about me performing illicit acts with my girlfriend?"

The girl pointed a finger at me triumphantly. "So you're trying to deny it while looking for another girl now, are you? As if we would be so naive-"

"And are you aware that Horikawa Kioko is the girlfriend in question?" I overran her, talking with a bland tone of voice. "Or that no such thing happened? Or that the person who accidentally began the rumor apologized? Or that it's really rude to insult someone without any proof?"

Ah, maybe I went a bit too far on that last one. That's just gonna make her defensive. Well whatever, I got what I needed. "Ah, sorry, I shouldn't have said that. Anyway, thanks, Souya-san!"

Then I turned and walked out of the classroom, leaving behind the fuming girl, whatever her name was. I didn't actually know many of Kioko's classmates, although she did mention a Kyoko because their names were similar. Anyway, I'd probably only see her again at assemblies, so I didn't care much.

Well, Kioko had made it to school at least, just a bit late, so that was a load off my back. Good thing I hadn't tried calling, since she might have been in the middle of class at the time, and I would have just had to leave a message anyway.

I slowed to a stop and mechanically turned to the wall before I began banging my head on it. "A text! I could have sent her a text! She could have replied between classes!" Ah, I really am such an idiot sometimes.

Well, better late than never at least. I pulled out my phone and just sent a quick sentence saying I was glad she'd made it to school as I headed back to the classroom. I wonder what she was doing that made her late anyway? Just as I sent the message, my stomach rumbled. I sighed as I looked forward to the three hours of classes still left in the day.

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

The bell for class to end had just rang and I was already reaching into my backpack for the bento I'd stashed there. I knew I was supposed to meet up with Kioko like usual, but she wouldn't mind if I was a little late, right?

And I was going to die if I didn't get some food in me within thirty seconds, so that precedence. I clapped my hands together to give thanks just as the classroom door slid open. Issei ran into the room with a panicked look on face identical to the one he had been wearing earlier that same day. Please no please no please no _I just wanna eat!_

It was with a sense of muted horror that I saw him head down the line of desks towards me looking intent on his destination. I braced myself for impact as he approached and came to a stop at the desk… behind me? "Ashido-san! Please help me!"

"Huh?"

"Huh?"

Both me and Ashido let out an involuntary sound of surprise at the unexpected action. I know that I didn't want you to bother me, but you don't have to ignore me like that! If I attacked my food with a little more vigor than was necessary, the brown-haired boy didn't seem to notice. Not like he'd care anyway.

"But, why do you want to talk to me?" Ashido asked, sounding confused. That makes two of us, buddy. You were downright antagonistic to him last time, but does he come to his fellow peerage member? Nooooo~

"Well, you were really helpful last time, so I figured maybe you could do something this time too." Well, that was Issei for you. On an unrelated note, this meatball was really good! Maybe I should go hungry more often if it always made the food taste this good.

I heard Ashido heave a large sigh before asking "Well then, what do you need help with?"

"Souna-Kaichou won't let me live with Asia!" I choked on a bite of rice at _that_ piece of information, pounding my chest before I swiveled to look back at the duo behind me, who were both giving me looks of concern.

"Woah woah woah, how did your relationship progress that fast! And wasn't Asia-" I swallowed the word kidnapped, remembering I was in a public setting. "…busy, last time I knew?" How did we get from point A to point B so quickly? Give me some context, man!

"Uh, Kai-san," Issei pointed out gently, "You have some rice on your chin."

…Priorities, Issei! This is kinda important! I did hurriedly wipe my chin though, before giving the pervert the best glare I could muster. "Okay, so the whole Asia thing is resolved then?"

"Well no," Issei said, scratching his chin. "That's what I was saying, that Kaichou won't let her stay with me."

"I'm referring to her being 'busy,' Issei." I said as patiently as I could, resisting the urge to shake the boy back and forth. Were all my plans for busting in to the secret hideout wasted! I'd spent hours on those!

Issei's face cleared up and he smacked a palm with his fist. "Oh, that? Yeah, that's no problem. We took care of it last night."

They "took care of it?" Just like that? Urgsblurgufl.

"And by "we,"" I asked as calmly as I could, "You mean everyone _but me_ , right?" I'd been left behind again. I really needed to do something actually _useful_ for once or this would keep happening, and that was something I couldn't stand.

"Well, you had already had your own… busy-ness to take care of, not to mention the… papercuts you had." I appreciate the effort, Issei, but please use the metaphor properly, the code is breaking apart! I got when he meant though. I would have gone to help in a heartbeat, but the others were probably worried about my _completely healed_ wounds. Honestly, people seem to have some really messed up priorities sometimes.

"Erm…" a very confused Ashido interrupted, glancing between me and Issei. "Do I still need to be here? Because this kinda seems like a conversation between you two." He stood up and reached for his things, preparing to leave.

I really didn't mind either way, but Issei seemed to want him to stick around. "No, please stay, Ashido-san! You still haven't helped with my problem yet!"

"And I might not anyway," Ashido grumbled, but sat down at Issei's urging. "All right, so what did Shitori-Kaichou say."

Issei launched into his story, first going over how Asia didn't have anywhere to stay and so wanted to stay with him, then to him being called by the student council and the president coldly informing him that she would not allow a non-related female to reside under the same roof as Issei, no matter if the female was willing or not.

The story devolved into general railings against Sona after that, but we eventually fished out the details. Sona was worried about Asia and had said she would even go so far as to personally pay for Asia to stay at an apartment to prevent her from living with Issei.

Now that sounded more like the tsundere student council president that I knew. It sounded like her meeting with Issei wasn't too much after mine though, it must have been really tough for her to deal with both me and him in one day.

At the end of his tale slash rant we sat in silence for a bit before I eventually broke it. "So… what's the problem again?"

"That's not nice, Kai-san," Issei whined. "Asia can't stay with me like this!" Again, what's the problem with that?

I heaved out a sigh before trying to explain. "And why does she _need_ to stay with you? You say that she needs a house, but with the president's offer, that's taken care of. Anything else is just you wanting to spend more time with her." Which I did support for the IsseixAsia ship, but he had to see reason in this case.

"Kado, remember how Asia-chan didn't know how to eat ice cream?" Issei asked, a slightly condescending tone to his voice that bugged me.

"Yeah? So what?"

"Do you think she knows how to lock a door?"

Oh.

Issei continued. "Do you think she knows how to cook? Or clean? Or anything that is necessary for living alone?" All I could do was sit still and listen guiltily to his list of reasons.

As he took in a breath I raised a hand to stop him. "Alright, I get the picture. Sorry, Issei, I only saw the surface and didn't think to look any deeper than that." Kakashi would be so disappointed in me. If he was real and all.

"So… the girl can't stay with you, and she can't stay by herself, is that it?" Ashido asked, speaking up at last. "So don't you just need to find another female that she can live with?"

"That's it!"

"You're a genius!"

Issei and I both clapped him heavily on the back, before turning away and discussing it between ourselves.

"And who do we know that is rich and lives alone?"

"Rias-Buchou!"

"Right. So we just have to persuade her to let her live with her."

"Oh, that should be easy! Asia's part of the peerage now!"

"WHAT?!" These kind of things are important to tell other people, Issei!

"Aha," Issei scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Didn't I tell you that part?"

"No, you didn't!"

I heard a sigh from behind me and turned to see Ashido packing up his stuff with a patient expression. "Well, sounds like you've got that figured out, so I'll just take my leave. But you guys do know that Shitori-Kaichou only has authority over in-school matters, right?"

Looking up, Ashido was taken aback as he was faced with two pairs of pitying eyes.

"Were we ever that innocent, Kai-san?"

"I can only think so, but it all seems so distant, like a dream."

"Ah, I know what you mean. Do you ever wish we could go back to those days."

"All the time, Issei."

Ashido rolled his eyes with a snort. "Whatever, you guys. I'm heading out." He suited actions to words, closing the door behind him as he left.

Gathering up my own lunch and backpack, I asked Issei "By the way, do you know where Akeno-san's class is?"

"3-B," he rattled off immediately. "But why do you need to know?" He gasped in horror. "You're not going to try propositioning her, are you? Even when you already have Horikawa-san?" Says the wanna-be harem king? I get the feeling that you're just upset that it's me trying it and not you.

"Nah, I just want to ask her something." Sorry Kioko, but looks like you'll have to wait today. It was about time I finally started doing something about my weakness instead of just complaining about it.

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

Standing in front of the door to class 3-B, I ran over what I was planning to say again. I needed to get stronger, to protect myself at least, and the two main paths I could see were to either physically strengthen myself, or to learn magic.

Guess which one I picked.

So I just needed to ask Akeno if she would teach me, but assuming she was still in the classroom, she would be around other students, and I would have to be delicate about the topic.

Reaching for the door handle, the door opened by itself just before I could reach it, revealing Akeno on the other side, a surprised look on her face. "Oh, it's you."

"Ah, hello Himejima-senpai." Okay, not how I was expecting it to go, but no problem. Before I could say anything else though, Akeno beat me to it.

"Ara ara, just couldn't stay away, could you, M-kun." The gentle smile on her face and the hand cupping her cheek just made it worse.

A muscle in my face twitched as I responded as politely as I could. "I believe I told you not to call me that, Himejima-senpai."

I plowed on before she could say anything, not trusting her to not twist my words in some way. "I came to you to ask if you could…" I briefly looked past the black-haired girl and there were indeed students in the room, so subtle it was. "…give me some guidance on a few things."

There, that wasn't too bad. Akeno looked slightly surprised before an almost vicious smile split her face in two. "Oh, I'm surprised you came right out and asked me like that, _M-kun_ ~"

Huh?

Why am I getting a very bad feeling about this. The sadistic girl in front of me went on. "I thought we were going to keep those kinds of things to a private setting, but here you are in public clearly stating your intentions."

Again, huh? What is she talking about? "I suppose I could put something together on short notice though, parade you around the school perhaps…" Akeno had a finger on her chin as if she was thinking deeply about something, but her eyes exposed her mirth clearly.

Nope, still have no clue what she's talking about. "Erm, Himejima-senpai?" I asked, intentionally putting a confused look on my face. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I just wanted your help studying. We are in the same club after all."

The tall beauty's face froze slightly, the amusement fading to first confusion, then disappointment.

The two of us were interrupted by something inside the room, a sound like something heavy being slammed on a desk. My curiosity got the best of me and I looked in to see a red-haired girl breathing heavily with a red face and a fist on a nearby desk. The desk's occupant was leaning back at a dangerous angle and gazing at the fist planted centimeters away from his hand with wide eyes.

"Y-Y-You pervert!" The girl yelled, before beginning to stalk towards the open doorway. Oh, not this girl again. Didn't we already go through this today? And why are you even here if you're in Kioko's class?

"Even if you are Horikawa-san's boyfriend, which I _doubt_ ," the girl began, already well on her way to working herself into a rage, "now you are here attempting to do awful acts with another woman, one of the two great ladies even!"

Yeah, I got where this was going. But what did she mean by inappropriate acts? I tried thinking back over what Akeno and I had said, but nothing really seemed to stand out…

A slight blush worked itself onto my face as I facepalmed, dragging the hand away to land a glare on Akeno. "This is _your_ fault, you know." And why am I the one being blamed for it?

Akeno had a face of innocence, although she was barely restraining a laugh. "I have no idea what you are talking about, M-kun."

Oh, so that's how it was going to be, was it? My reputation was already down in the dirt, but this called for revenge. I shelved the idea for later. Someday, somehow, I will have my revenge, Himejima Akeno.

For now though, I would just have to deal with it. Tilting my head, I shot the blandest look I could at the enraged female inside the room. "You can ask Horikawa-san herself if you doubt me that much, and as you probably just heard me say, I came to ask for help with homework and that's it."

The girl scoffed, coming up behind Akeno and forcefully interceding the space to become a point on a triangle. "As if someone like you would know one of the great ladies. This must be an attempt to get familiar with someone who is too kind to turn down an idiot like you."

I breathed out a slow sigh. I really would need to get used to this kind of treatment with how things were going, but the temptation to just verbally tear into this girl was becoming stronger each time she opened her mouth. "Himejima-senpai, back me up will you."

"Mm, why should I?" My dead eyes slowly turned to Akeno's twinkling ones with all the patience of a glacier. Alright, if that was how she wanted to play it. I still had some cards of my own to play.

"Five days ago," I said as blandly as I could, still keeping eye contact with the grinning black-haired girl, "I died." The smile dropped faster than Galileo's experiment. "I was walking down a road when I saw a young woman and a classmate." The expression was rapidly morphing into a form of horror as Akeno realized exactly what I was doing.

Revealing the supernatural to a bunch of high-school kids wasn't very likely. Honestly I was more likely to be called a liar or that I was trying to get attention, and even if someone did believe me, they would probably be mind-wiped by the devils. But if something did go wrong, than Rias would get a huge amount of flak from any superiors she had, and I was sure she had some. And allowing Rias to come into that kind of thing was something that Akeno would never allow.

"Soon after I met the two, the young woman erupted in lightning and-" I went on, but was interrupted by the as-of-yet-unnamed girl.

"What's that? Some messed up fantasy of yours?" Her voice was scathing, but she seemed slightly on edge from my words. Maybe I had just really creeped her out or something.

I spoke, still gazing at Akeno without pause. "Nothing much, just the plot of a story that me and Himejima-senpai are working on, _right senpai?_ " I slowly smiled at the girl while my eyes said that there was only one way out.

"A-Ah, right, Kai-san," the normally composed girl stuttered out, looking away first. "It's just a small idea I had and Kai-san said he would help me with it in return for help with his studies," she informed the suspicious girl and the rest of the class by proxy. "We are in the same club after all." She was smiling as widely as usual, but I knew her well enough by now to tell that she was _not_ happy with me.

There was a moment of pitched silence in the room before the students flooded forward. "Are you really doing something like that?" "That's incredible!" "I can help you, you don't need him!" "How did someone like _that_ get in the ORC?" "Want me to read what you have so far?" They edged the red-haired girl out of the doorway in their haste to crowd next to their adored "great lady."

I caught Akeno's strained eye and sent her a wink. "My gratitude, senpai. I'll wait out in the hallway until you are done." I carefully slid the door closed, avoiding stray fingers and toes, but was soon left in relative quiet, so long as I ignored the sounds from inside the room.

Well, that was a lot more complicated than it needed to be. Honestly, why did Akeno feel the need to tease me so much. Weren't senpais supposed to be courteous and helpful? Apparently she had decided that didn't apply in my case. Was it just because she knew I was a devil or that I knew her true personality?

I forcefully ran a hand through my hair, mussing it up slightly further. Aah, why did girls have to be so complicated? It would be so much easier if they came with an instruction manual or something. Akeno's would have to be in multiple languages, if that was true.

A few minutes later, a smiling black-haired devil exited the room, smiling and waving at her new supporters as she left. No sooner had the door slid closed behind her than the smile was replaced with a haggard expression and she turned to glare at me. "Very funny, _kohai._ I'll have to actually write a story to show them now."

Was she that devoted to her reputation? She could simply tell them that it was nothing more than an idea and she was too busy. There were other options, you know. "And I'm pretty sure at least one person in there thinks that I'm forcing you into some kind of twisted pervert's paradise, _S-chan_." I turned away and started to walk down the corridor. "Besides, it'll be good for you. Builds character and all that."

A smug feeling was simmering inside me as I took a few steps away, right before I remembered I had come to her in the first place to get her to teach me magic. Annoying the sadist and putting her in a bad position was probably not the best way to achieve that goal. I inwardly winced and was just turning around to apologize when I heard a sound behind me.

"…fufufufu~" Looking behind me I saw that Akeno hadn't moved from where she was standing, and was instead holding her stomach while distinctly foreboding giggles came from the laughing girl.

…Did I break her?

I was about to apologize when her head lifted up, bangs shadowing her eyes. My mouth snapped shut as I caught a glimpse of her eyes. And what lay in them, instead of anger or frustration was undisguised _interest._ I realized the laughing had stopped and we were just staring at each other.

Clearing my throat awkwardly, I shifted my gaze to the side, suddenly nervous. From what I'd gleaned of Akeno's personality, having her interested in someone like me wasn't really something to be excited about, even though most of the boys in the school acted like they'd kill for the opportunity.

"Well, I actually-"

I was interrupted by Akeno's smooth tones completely overrunning my words. "Nobody has ever done something like that before, you know." Her voice didn't have it's usual teasing quality, but there was an undercurrent of something there, I just couldn't make it out. Ah great, I could already imagine her making vague references to me being her "first" in class or some other time.

Words slipped out in a tone that was far more sarcastic than I meant it to be. "Well sorry if I-" I was again ignored as Akeno spoke over me, cutting off what I was saying.

"Mm, maybe that's not a bad thing." Whatthehuh?

At this point I was so _done_ with Akeno and this whole conversation I was ready to bolt down the hallway and just pretend I had some kind of emergency if we ever met again. I turned to run, but the escape plan was cut shockingly short when I felt two soft arms loop gently but securely around my neck and a heavy weight drop down onto my back, forcing me to lean forward and making it impossible to run.

A hot breath in my ear, uncomfortably close. "You know, I can be an _M_ too~" Nope. Nopenopenopity nope. I focused on emotionally curling in on myself and restraining the part that was screaming in panic and pure confusion.

"Could you get off me?" I spoke as evenly as I could, pulling at her arms in a way that wasn't forceful, but made my opinion clear. So a sadistic devil with control over lightning had just barely found me "interesting," whatever that meant, and was now teasing me however she could. Why? Because girls and because Akeno.

So I needed to find some way to either deflect her interest or get her to become serious. The two limbs slowly loosened their grip and the weight on my back lessened, allowing me to stand up. "Aww, but you were so warm~"

Next, bring up the discussion of the magic lessons. I turned to her, calm and collected, making eye contact. "Himejima-senpai-"

Once again, interrupted. "Mm, why so cold? Call me Akeno~" It was intentional, throwing me off my game, keeping her in control of the conversation.

" _Himejima-senpai_ ," I repeated, ignoring the girl's obviously fake pout. "The original reason I wanted to talk to you was to inquire if you would be willing to teach me magic?" hopefully that would do the trick. At least give her something else to focus on besides… whatever she was currently focusing on.

Akeno took a moment to think, tipping her head to the side as her hair drifted across her face. "Hmm, so you want to learn magic, do you? And why ask me instead of Rias?"

Wasn't it obvious? "Because so far as I know, Rias uses her destruction ball most of the time while you fight using actual magic. Rias probably knows about the theory, but why not go to the person who has the most experience in actually using it?"

Akeno looked slightly taken aback at that. I heard her mutter "…really… after all…" It was quiet enough that even my devil-enhanced hearing could barely make out what she said. Standing still, I waited for her to reply to my question. If she refused due to whatever reason, I could always go and ask Rias if she would teach me.

Akeno's eyes seemed to return to full focus, zeroing in on me and the same amused look arose on her face. "Ah, so you want me to give you guidance, is that it?" Well a weird way of phrasing something I'd already said, but that was the gist of it so I nodded.

The black-haired girl slowly walked over to me, sashaying slightly, clearly taking her sweet time to rack up the tension. "Well then," a hand rose up to gently touch my cheek. "I will simply have to instruct you, won't I."

Well that was a relief, I was certainly worried-

I felt a pulse of energy coming from Akeno's hand and tried to yank my head back, but was too late. I saw a pulse of yellow before it felt like every nerve in my body lit up at once, blanking out everything in my surroundings but the floor beneath me and the darkness of my eyelids.

Then the feeling was gone, and I could tell that it had only been a few seconds. My body didn't burn like I expected it to, instead just feeling sore, but energized. Like I'd just done a hard workout and then eaten a pound of sugar afterwards. Not that I'd ever done that.

I sat up from my prone position and looked upwards at the noirette leaning over me with a mischievous expression. "That was a dirty trick and you know it." From the feeling, she wasn't trying to actually harm me, simply revenge for what I had done earlier. But it was still an attack from someone I had seen as an ally. I would forgive her, but I wouldn't be forgetting it for a while and would watch my back a little more closely around her or the other devils.

Akeno gave me an innocent look that quickly turned into a sadistic smirk. "Ara ara, already so lively after that? Perhaps I misjudged you after all~" So the previous actions were a setup for her revenge then? Ah, that makes sense then. Another mystery solved!

I shook my head and rose to my feet, wincing as the recently stressed muscles complained. "Ah yeah, whatever you say, Akeno. We're still on for the magic lessons though?" I was going to be seriously annoyed if that was part of her ploy too. Killing someones hopes like that is just cruel, ya know?

Akeno giggled again, taking a few steps back from me. "I suppose so, kohai. We can begin those tomorrow then, see if we can't make you a spell-slinging shaman in no time."

Rolling my eyes, I turned away to go find Kioko, muttering "Worst senpai _ever_." just loud enough for her to pick up. Judging by the dark-haired girl beginning another set of giggles, I assumed she had heard me.

Well, that was one thing down, and hopefully it would be smooth sailing from now on. Now just to check that Kioko hadn't killed someone or anything while I was away.

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

I watched with a distinctly odd sense of fondness as my innocent kohai walked further down the corridor, grumbling the whole way. It really was rather odd how he didn't react to or even _notice_ the small signs I was sending his way. Most boys would have already fled or become completely enraptured by my wiles, but this peculiar reincarnated devil seemed to be utterly immune to them.

Hmm, perhaps it was the girlfriend he already had that was keeping him in check? She certainly had made quite the impression when she first met with us, but she seemed to have calmed down considerably since then.

Speaking of which…

Turning to a hall closet that lay a few meters farther down the hallway, I said "You can come out now. Don't worry, I won't punish you _too much_ for eavesdropping on a private conversation." Naughty kohais needed to learn some manners somehow, though~

As soon as I stepped out of the classroom, I had picked up the feeling of her energy, no longer masked by the masses of students in the classroom. While most devils had gave the feeling of sulfur and ice, most fallen angels gave off the feeling of a live electric current, and most humans had the feeling of a small firecracker, Kado's girlfriend was different.

She had the same faint feeling of a sparkling light as other humans, briefly flaring up before dying again, over and over, but vastly overshadowing that was the feeling of what I could only describe as _time_. It was like a river that flowed backwards and forwards simultaneously, never ending. It was an unnerving feeling, even to creatures so immune to the stress of time as devils.

Rias and I had discussed it, but there was no sign that there was enough reason to take the risk of introducing a possibly volatile element into the peerage, no matter what odd energy she had. It was only possible to recognize these various energies after sufficient training with magic however, so my innocent kohai probably had no idea what kind of creature his girlfriend was.

It sent a shiver up my spine to imagine what kind of face he might make when he understood her true nature, something so _eternal_ it was beyond comprehension. What kind of _despair_ might it create within him?

As I considered the mysterious girl's inner self, the hall closet slowly opened, preceding the girl in question's emergence. She stood there with no sense of tension on her face, but a few glances at her joints revealed the stiffness inherent in adrenaline-fueled forced stillness. The girl was either angry or scared, and I felt a smirk slip up at the corner of my mouth. Two mice to play with in such a short time? Ara ara, how fortunate for me.

"Hmm, you know it's rude to eavesdrop on another's conversation, right?" I grinned at the blonde girl in both a teasing and threatening manner, although her face still revealed nothing. "Are you worried that your precious toy might be… _unfaithful_ to you?"

Now that was an interesting idea~ I'd always considered causing an affair with a schoolmate, but had resisted due to the need to keep my public persona intact. But the challenge of luring away the resistant devil in front of his girlfriend was almost too much to pass up. Was it for the thrill? That I might have actually found a fine catch? Or maybe simply to spite this prideful child in front of me, leaving both their hearts broken.

Mm, now that had a sweet ring to it, and I barely resisted licking my lips, intrigued by how the girl in front of me would respond to the blatant heckling. She surprised me by showing no signs of anger, simply letting out a care-free laugh instead.

"I have no need to be concerned," the girl said easily, although her limbs were still tight with unresolved tension. "Kado-kun isn't the type to be lured away by false pretenses or a bit of skin."

Haa~ It was almost too tempting to prove her wrong, to prove how her toy would fall when presented with easy temptation. But I didn't want to ruin anything for Rias, and breaking the boy's heart might damage the potential of the peerage when Rias needed every bit of strength she could get.

"Ara ara, so confident in his inner strength then, are you?" The smile I gave her was admittedly condescending. Certainly the girl had a sense of beauty with a nice face and figure, but it was no match for the supernaturally-gifted bodies of a devil, and I had never met a boy who could resist the feminine form. Aah, but perhaps he would be the first~

She shook her head softly, a smile similar to my own reflected back at me on her face. "See, you don't really know him, or you would never think something like that would work."

The girl's arrogance was beginning to anger me. "And you are so-" I was cut off, much like I had done to the girl's boyfriend minutes earlier. It was distinctly frustrating to be on the other end of the feeling.

"And," the girl said, uncaring of her rudeness, "You clearly don't know _me_ , or you would never _dare_ to _think_ of something like that." Her voice had turned caustic unnervingly fast, acid pouring off a sharpened blade. It even sent a shiver up my spine, although I wasn't sure if it was from fear or excitement.

Before I could give a response or even gather my thoughts, the girl before me blinked, and where here once green eyes had been there hung pure _red_ orbs. ( _blood,fruit,rose,hair,_ _ **red**_ ) I reacted in an instant as the feeling of _time_ swelled, nearly bursting free from the deceivingly frail body, and realized I was already a meter back with my wings extended, a bolt of magic ready to cast in my hand and lighting up the walls with flickering arcs.

" _What,_ " I rasped, before swallowing, "What are you?" My voice held a small quaver in it and my eyes were constantly scanning the form in front of me for any sign of weakness or hesitation to take advantage of. Disturbingly, I found none. While the creature wasn't in any kind of combat pose or even acting aggressive, she was completely confident, and my well-honed instincts screamed at me that to attack would only invite destruction upon myself.

The creature tilted it's head slightly with a hum. "Well, that's the question isn't it. But I'm afraid that's not the reason I came here to, as you put it, _eavesdrop_." It took a step forward and I unconsciously took one back, keeping an equal amount of distance between me and those _red_ eyes.

It took another step, forcing me back as it continued. "You see, I'm not here about Kado-kun. I'm here for _you_."

Then it was in front of me, no sign of movement between beginning and destination, and not even a sign of ruffled clothing. I leaped backwards, frantically considering whether to attack or if fleeing by air would be a way to escape. The thing couldn't fly, could it?

Thankfully, it didn't follow me further, just standing where it was and talking in a calm tone. "I'm actually holding back right now, staying in control instead of ripping you apart." I wanted to take the opportunity to run, but I was held in place by a sense of pride and curiosity. What was inside this girl that had puzzled Rias and I so much over the past week?

"And the only reason that I am not is because it might send Kado-kun searching after the killer in a fake goose chase wasting his time," the thing went on. "Not for revenge or anything, although he would certainly mourn you, but to prevent the killer from harming anyone else." Why was it so confident in what Kai-san would do? It couldn't actually know him that well, could it?

"That and the fact that he would never understand your advances in the first place. You see," the thing laid a hand on it's cheek and shook it's head mournfully. "Kado-kun doesn't understand love.

"It's not that he doesn't try, but love is inherently a very selfish thing, and Kado-kun is anything but selfish. He would gladly jump in front of an enemy to save them from death, something I believe you are already familiar with.

"So it is not that he doesn't feel love, it's that he has so much of it that he can't recognize it at all." It looked distinctly saddened as it narrated, laying out in a matter-of-fact way something that I couldn't understand. "He doesn't even really believe that I love him," it confessed in a heart-broken tone, and if it wasn't for the inexorable eternal feeling it emitted, I might have confused it for an honest-to-goodness human.

"So I am unconcerned about any possible plans you may have to seduce or lure away Kado-kun," the thing concluded, and I realized I had somehow been so distracted by the dialogue that I had forgotten the situation I was in, the ball of light in my palm almost going out from distraction.

I began edging away, but froze when the thing took a step in response, maintaining the constant distance between us. Uncaring, it went on. "Instead, this is about me. As I believe I told you, love is an incredibly selfish emotion."

Her voice lowered to barely a whisper, but I shivered as I felt warm breath caress my ear, regardless of the meters between us. "And I am a _very_ selfish person."

It blinked and the plain green eyes returned even as the river receded. The sudden calm that blanketed the hall made me feel awkward for standing ready to fight with my wings out against a human like what was in front of me, but I remembered what had just barely happened, hanging onto the feeling by a thread, and kept the magic prepared.

"…What do you want from me?" I eventually spoke, wary of what might happen. Had the girl been waiting to give me a sob story about how her boyfriend didn't love her after all? Was it really something so mundane that had caused me to fear the girl in front of me?

"Hmm, I suppose you could consider this a warning," the girl said, rocking back and forth on the tips of her shoes. Was that an attempt to seem taller, more threatening? "If you try to tease Kado-kun again or toy with his heart, I'll kill you." I nearly snorted at the arrogance of the girl before me, finally retracting my wings and dousing the magic in my hand. As if a human like her could actually harm me, much less kill me, no matter what power she had.

As if she could sense my thoughts, the girl turned away, waving a careless hand in dismissal. "Well it doesn't really matter if you believe me or not, but trust that I'll keep my word."

She walked farther away and as she turned around the corner, the door to the classroom flew open as if on cue, depositing several groaning students. "Finally!" a red-haired girl who I remembered was the same one who had been beleaguering Kai-san, said. "Of all the times for the door to jam!"

My gaze whirled to the corner that the blonde-haired girl had gone through just moments before, but slowly shook my head. No, it was impossible that she had engineered that. It must have been a coincidence.

A slight exertion of devil power, and I was unseen and unnoticeable as I ventured through the hallways to the old school building. I toyed with the idea of telling Rias about the girl's power, but rejected the idea in the end. No reason to tell Rias about what equated to a jealous girl's complaint.

I put the whole debacle out of my mind, instead planning how I was going to begin teaching my cute kohai the next day. He would need lots of _incentive_ , that was for certain. And probably a fair bit of _punishment_ as well, fufufu~

* * *

End AN: I'm gonna confess, I was tempted to have Kioko just kill off Akeno in this scene, but decided that would destroy canon way more than necessary and held off.

No, I'm gonna hold off on that until later in the plot.

…

Kidding, kidding!

Maybe. Honestly not 100% sure. The winds of writing take me where they wish, and I have no magical conductors stick to shape them.

On a slight side note, the original ending to this chapter was Akeno coming back to her house after school to find it burned to the ground, a threatening note in the middle of it clearly left by Kioko.

I couldn't think of a good reason that it needed to be included though, and couldn't think of a way for Kioko to get out of it without Rias and the others being told, so I ended up scrapping it.

Last thing for that scene, Akeno being really arrogant and condescending to Kioko isn't wholly natural. Hopefully you guys picked up on that, but just in case, that was _not normal_. Akeno might have the pride of both a devil and fallen angel, but she is still kind to innocents and her friends. Most of the time. So yeah, that was some more mumbo-jumbo coming from Kioko. Because _maaaaggiiiiiic~_

To repeat what I've said before just in case, Kado does not and will not have a harem. Akeno's mostly teasing him, not romantic affection, and Kioko is paranoid as a turtle.

I've had Asia not living with Issei planned for quite a bit, as it matches my sterner version of Sona, who doesn't care if it's Rias' peerage, no hanky-panky is going down on her watch, or her name isn't Sona Sitri! There was also a certain degree of spite against Issei, who has certainly caused her enough stress to make up for it.

Last comment is that Kioko's views on love do not reflect my own. Kioko sees love as a selfish emotion that makes her want to make sure that Kado never _sees_ another girl, but is restraining herself for both their sakes. She's ignoring the part that is selfless, that makes her want to protect Kado and would leave him if he fell in love with someone else. Of course, those could also be argued as being selfish, not wanting to feel the pain of Kado disliking her.

In the end it's a matter of opinion and experience, and I'm certainly not qualified to say which one it is, if either.

Teaser for next month, I have done some _craaaazy_ things to the Riser arc. I regret nothing.


	12. Kado is Adopted He Doesn't Know Yet

AN: Ahahahaha! I am _reborn!_

Okay, taking a month off was really relaxing, but I'm excited to get back into writing two hours a day. This chapter was written before the beginning of February, but I edited it at least three times, so hopefully it's good. I only got one extra chapter written, but I got five more stories started, two of which are fanfiction and might actually get posted on this site at some point.

My fight scenes are horrible, so I tried to fix the chapter by adding in character interactions and failed at that too. So I made up for that by making the chapter almost 10.5k words long. Hopefully that's not a problem, since I've been having problems writing chapters shorter than 8k. Man, remember those days where my goal was to get over 5k? Or the first chapters that were about 3k? I honestly have no clue what happened to them. Good news, next chapter should only be... no wait that's also over 10k. But I'm sure nobody wants to have _two_ chapters of training camp.

(If you do want two chapters please tell me it will give me so much extra time.)

Disclaimer: I don't own Highschool DxD, but decided that the magic system was too bland and ended up redoing the whole thing. Because ""

* * *

Breath fled my lungs in a forced exhale, the fist impacting my stomach with enough force to push me back a meter on the polished wood floor as I barely kept my balance. I doubled over in pain, raising a shaky hand to signal "please-don't-kill-me-I'm-dying-right-now" while I regained the ability to move or speak.

"Ara ara, is that all you can do, M-kun?" Don't act like I'm so weak! I'm pretty sure that punch would have knocked me unconscious if I wasn't a devil! Taking a few deep breaths, I straightened back up to look into the innocently grinning face of the devil. Literally and figuratively.

I could feel my body shuddering and knew I only had enough strength for one last effort. Better make it count then. "As if! Get ready, Akeno! I'm giving you all I've got!" I yelled out to her.

Planting my feet solidly, I lowered my stance and breathed in deeply, preparing myself for the upcoming defeat. For some reason, devils had an insanely good sense of balance, almost to the point of shifting their center of gravity around at will. Mostly this seemed to be used for being graceful at all times. But after getting kicked around by Akeno for the last month, I had figured out an alternate use.

With a slight push, I was falling forwards, face rapidly approaching the floor. My right leg was already up and slamming down onto the wood with enough force to splinter the floor if Akeno hadn't reinforced it, and blasting me forward at high speeds.

Coming in so low meant that Akeno would have to extend farther to hit me, hopefully giving me an opening. Akeno hadn't moved since she hit me, so it was only two steps before I was almost beneath her, my fist shooting up in a punch aimed directly at her solar plexus.

The heavy blow was casually blocked, Akeno's hand shooting into place and absorbing the force without so much as a twitch. That was what I expected anyway. My right leg came up, cocking into place before shooting out in a side kick meant to at least push her back.

It was blocked with as much ease as the last blow, the same hand darting in with the sinuous grace of a snake and latching onto my ankle with a deceptive gentleness that belied the rock-hard grip, forcing the limb to halt barely over an inch from her stomach.

Gritting my teeth, I hopped into the air with my other leg, extending the trapped one to at least give me some distance. The noirette easily released the limb and gave me an indulgent smile as she returned to her usual position, hands folded demurely in front of her. A taunt.

My breathing was labored and I felt like my appendix was going to come flying out of my mouth, but I wasn't giving up yet. She had agreed to train me, and I certainly wasn't going to waste that time just standing around. I dove back in, this time stopping a few steps away from her and rotating my torso to let loose with a powerful right hook heading straight for her head. "Rraaagh!"

Akeno's eyebrow raised slightly, even as she bent her head back a few centimeters to let the attack pass by unchallenged, a simple waste of my energy. "So _eager_ , M-kun~" My left hand shot out in a straight jab, even as my right curved back to a ready position. This time it was blocked, a quick motion of Akeno's hand deflecting the force to the side, although I pulled back instead of overextending.

This pattern continued for the next few moments, each attack either deflected or dodged, all without the noirette changing her expression once. I was on my last legs, pouring everything I had into each attack.

I gasped for breath as I lashed out with an open palm, barely even trying to hit her. "Mmm, out already? So little stamina, M-kun," laughed Akeno as she grabbed the wrist with a pathetically simple movement.

Then I grinned. I would have made some kind of witty comment, but I barely had enough breath to move, much less talk. My trapped wrist rotated with what little give in had inside of the training gi I was wearing and grabbed onto her own wrist. Position secure, I jumped, kicking my legs out to the horizontal as I pulled with all the strength I had left, coming in with a jump kick to the torso.

With me trapping one arm, there was no way that she would be able to dodge or block both incoming feet. This would be my win for sure!

Akeno sighed, and I knew something was about to go horribly wrong. She casually pivoted on one foot, letting my feet carry on past her unopposed. And then, just as gravity began to overtake my momentum and drag me to the ground, her hand, the one I was still holding onto, whipped upwards with the greatest of ease, dragging my arm and upper body with it.

I tried to let go, but her hand was still gripping my wrist and it was too late to back out. There was a spike of pain as my torso and legs wanted to go disagreed as to which way they were going before Akeno's arm rotated fully above her body, slamming me on the ground as a groan of pain escaped my lips. Only then did she let go of my wrist, allowing my arm to flop down onto my body like a dead fish released back into the water far too late.

All I could do was lay there panting for a while, taking heaving gulps of air that I could literally feel bringing strength back to my temporarily useless limbs. And above it all, Akeno looking on and making what I'm sure she thought were exceptionally witty comments.

"Did you lose your enthusiasm so quickly?"

"Or perhaps I was too much for you to handle?"

"You were rather _bold_ with that last attack. Something I should know?"

"Your face is so red! Am I making you that excited?"

I'd figured out by now, with no help from Kioko _whatsoever_ , that about half of what Akeno said was apparently some kind of double-entendre. And for whatever reason, that seemed to be upped to three-fourths whenever she was training with me. So instead I just ignored the pervert unless it was actually important. I was pretty sure making fun of me as I recovered didn't count, so I was content to tune her out.

This was most of what Akeno's "training" was, beating me up for over an hour each day before taking the rest of the time to lecture my near-comatose body about the basics of magic. I'd improved as of late, and was able to keep fighting for longer, but I still had yet to actually land a proper hit on the black-haired devil. Not for lack of trying, I can tell you that much.

Usually in anime or manga we see the main character leave for training, then they come back in the nick of time and with a nifty power-up that lets them beat whatever mini-boss had completely crushed them before.

But let me tell you something.

The time-skip is a lie. And the main reason that shows used it at all was probably to keep the viewers from being demoralized by seeing said main character get absolutely _destroyed_ by his trainer over and over. That and the fact that it was probably crazy boring.

Nope, instead people apparently got power-ups by chance or by _desire_ , just because they _wanted_ one. I realized I was frowing slightly and carefully smoothed over my expression, but Akeno had already noticed.

My trainer from hell let out a sigh and dropped to a seat next to me, sticking her long legs out in front of her and leaning back on her hands. "You're not satisfied with your progress," she said. It was a statement, not a question.

I lifted my head up slightly so I could let it fall back down in a gesture of helplessness, almost relishing in the pain from it hitting the reinforced wood. "Am I that easy to read?" It was kinda hard to feel satisfied when literally everyone around me could easily crush me. And yeah, that included Issei now.

Akeno hummed slightly, still just looking ahead. "You shouldn't compare yourself with Issei, you know-"

"I know!" I interrupted harshly before taking a deep breath to calm down. "I know," I repeated softly. "It's just… a little unfair." A week earlier, some thugs had tried to mug Asia and Issei while he was taking her on a date. The two get dragged into an alley, and all of a sudden it turns out that Issei's sacred gear actually has a dragon inside it and the power to kill gods.

I wasn't jealous, but it kinda stung that something like random chance had given Issei something so powerful while I had nothing. And for all my efforts, I was still falling so far behind the rest that it was just pathetic to watch. How long before Akeno gave up on a lost cause and started spending her time on more important things?

"You're right, it's not fair."

I'd forgotten that Akeno was there for a moment and turned to face her as she started speaking. "It's just random chance, with no rhyme or reason to it. He doesn't deserve something so powerful, and I'd be surprised if he hasn't already used it to peek on the clubs changing."

"Wow," I drawled sardonically as she paused for a moment. "You are _exceptional_ at these motivational speeches. I'm amazed that you haven't already been recruited to go on tour around the country."

Akeno continued, ignoring me. "But moping about it isn't going to help any, so are you going to keep lying there, or are you going to show me what you've been working on."

…That was worse than I thought it was going to be. Closing my eyes for a moment, all I could do was let out a sigh. She was right though, this was just wasting time and I was rested enough to walk by now.

Letting out a groan of both frustration and pain, I flexed my sore muscles and slowly climbed to my feet. "Yeah yeah, sure. Might as well." Stretching and feeling the now-familiar ache of sore muscles, I made my way over to the single training dummy Akeno had managed to find in the old school building.

Although Akeno's training was a lot more physical than I had first believed, she did start teaching me the basics of magic. Demonic energy was a mixture of bloodline, training, and energy accumulated by completing contracts. Since I was a human, had almost no training, and had barely completed any contracts, that meant that I was basically bottom of the barrel.

On top of that, each devil had some kind of magical attribute passed on to them by their bloodline, a special attribute that their magic could pass onto them. Rias' family had the power of destruction, while Akeno had lightning and some kind of exorcism ability.

And again, my family was human. So I got nothing. It was still technically possible to change magic from one form to another element, but Akeno had refused to teach it to me until I got at least a few basic spells down. Which I had yet to do.

Taking my place in front of the plastic training dummy. I lowered myself into a stance and pulled my latent magical energy to the surface. I could feel it thrumming beneath my skin, feeling like one of Akeno's electric shocks. Invigorating but hard to hold onto, slipping away like soap.

But I didn't have to grab it, didn't have to force it to where I wanted it to go, I just had to direct it and then alter the output. So I pushed it down into my right arm and held it there for a moment, pulsing and crackling. Rearing back my arm, I took a step and let loose a punch at the chest of the dummy, releasing the stored energy as close to the moment of impact as I could manage, focusing as hard as I could on shaping it to my desires.

The dummy scooted back a few centimeters and wobbled slightly on it's heavily weighted base. Not a mark on it's white plastic chest. Another failure. Meanwhile, my hand felt like I'd left it on a hot stove for too long, the flesh red and throbbing. It would heal in a few minutes, but I didn't want to get chewed out by Akeno for not even being able to cast a spell right if she caught sight of it.

Folding my arms to try and hide the injury, I turned to face Akeno, keeping my face expressionless despite what I knew was coming. Indeed, the normally jocular devil was looking down at me, an unimpressed look on her face. "And that was supposed to be… what, exactly?"

Biting my cheek as my hand gave out another pulse of pain as it rubbed against my shirt, I tried to act nonchalant. "I was attempting to alter the mana as it emerged, shaping it into physical force at the moment of impact and cause a more powerful strike."

Akeno disregarded my incorrect use of the term as she strode forward and harshly flicked my forehead, the enhanced strength giving me a momentary headache. "And did you at least do what I told you to? Practice drawing magic circles?"

"No ma'am, I did not!"

She flicked my forehead again. "Don't say it so proudly!" She sighed and took a step back. "Altering the nature of demonic energy is far too advanced for you right now. What you're trying to do is take water, and by splashing it on someone, set them on fire. Just do the basics first, at least you'll know what you're trying to fail at then."

As harsh as her words were, she wasn't entirely wrong. Hanging my head, I said "Yes ma'am," hoping if I acted penitent enough she wouldn't make me finish the circles after all. While I had originally imagined something like alchemy or seals, it ended up being a lot more boring.

The first step, drawing a circle. A _perfect_ circle. And Akeno wouldn't let me move on until I could draw one perfectly without any kind of tool. Because apparently using a protractor was "cheating."

"Now then," the cruel trainer began, her voice returning to her more usual teasing tone, "I do suppose you require some form of punishment for disobeying me, do you not?"

Even though I had been expecting this, I still winced, knowing just what was in store for me. I trailed after her despondently, ignoring the twinges of pain from my healing hand. "Yes ma'am…"

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

I sat on the steps in front of the school's main door, wincing as Kioko smoothed burn cream onto my right arm, burned from Akeno's obstacle's course, "The Dragon's Mouth." Kioko was ranting about irresponsible teachers and my own stubbornness as I listened with a smile.

"-why fire? Paint or a harmless gas would work just as well! But no, she calls it 'motivation,'" She paused in her ministrations to make air quotes, and I barely held in a chuckle at the motion. "And she giggles about it! She could at least heal you up afterwards instead of forcing you to deal with this!"

I took the opportunity as she paused to speak up in defense of my teacher. "Actually, she did offer to heal it up. But I turned her down." While it hurt to have bruises and other minor pains, the pain was minor and I wasn't willing to go _that_ far to get rid of them, especially since Asia could probably heal me when I saw her tomorrow.

Kioko paused, realizing what the healing would probably entail. She went back to rubbing the burn cream in, more gently this time while mumbling about annoying devils that didn't know boundaries. I might have agreed with her a month ago, but by now I had a better idea of Akeno as a person.

She certainly had her… quirks, and had no problem demonstrating them, but beneath that she really did care for all the members of the peerage and would never really do anything to hurt them. Well, permanently at least. I was pretty sure Kioko knew that too by now, and was mostly just grumbling for the sake of it. She might still be stinging after Akeno turned her down after she asked to be trained as well.

The mumbling broke off as we both heard an indistinct shout coming from somewhere else on campus. Kioko closed her eyes with a sigh. "What time is it, Kado-kun?" She asked, a tone of long-suffering in her voice.

I checked my watch and yep, it was right about time. "Just after five-thirty, so clubs will have just gotten out. Which one do you think he went after this time?"

Kioko hummed, tapping her chin as another noise rang out from across the school that we both ignored. "Well he's already targeted the Kendo Club, the Tennis Club, the Tea Ceremony Club, the Women's Basketball Club, and the Swimming Club this week. So it's probably the Judo Club today."

Nodding, I thought it over. "Nah, he went after them last week, and there's only two girls in that one. I think it's more likely to be the Cooking Club. A lot more girls and he's been after the housewife type lately, even if they aren't going to be changing clothes."

My girlfriend shot me a cold look out of the corner of her eye. "And you know Issei's current tendencies how, Kado-kun?"

I raised my hands in a form of surrender, only to receive a soft slap to the left one, which had the burn on it. I got the picture and lowered it back down so Kioko could finish bandaging it. "It's not my fault! Issei keeps coming over to my classroom and talking about this kind of stuff." I'd already given up on having any kind of reputation and was just glad to have at least one person still talking to me, Ashido having given up at getting through to Issei weeks ago and now just left us alone.

"Mhmm, I'm sure," the blonde girl said in a skeptical tone of voice. She pulled the ends of the bandage tight, making sure it was secure around the burn. "Yep, that ought to do it," she said in a proud tone of voice.

I slipped my uniform jacket on, covering any sign of damage besides the few green and blue patches on my face. "Thanks, but you know that Asia said she'd heal them tomorrow, right?" Not much point in putting on a healing salve if it was going to be healed anyway, really.

Kioko rolled her eyes and slipped closer, putting an arm around me. "Yeah, I know. Let me do the girlfriend thing though, will you?" It was nice to have her so supportive, an assurance that she was okay with what I was doing.

Putting my arm around her in return, I tilted my head so it touched her own and looked out over the school lawn. It was a nice moment of peace for all the two seconds it lasted.

"Come on guys, are you _trying_ to make me jealous!"

Issei's voice rang out from above us, a teasing tone to it. I looked up with a sense of resignation to see the pervert's head poking out from the canopy overshadowing the stairs. "And how long have _you_ been there?"

He grinned, showing no sign of repentance. "For about fifteen minutes now. Why do you ask?" …I really missed the old Issei. The one who shouted out his feelings with no shame and did whatever he wanted. He did the same now, but he was a lot better at not being caught.

He pointed a finger outwards to the noise and chaos that was slowly growing closer, still upside down. "It _is_ the Judo club, for the record. All that training makes them really toned, you know? Quality over quantity." Then he winked at me, as if I was going to agree with him or something.

Resisting the urge to facepalm, I turned away from Issei, really wishing he had something better to be doing, or somewhere else to be doing it. The girls were going to find him eventually, and I didn't want to be caught up in whatever torture method they had planned out this time.

Kioko slowly pulled her arm away from me as she glared at Issei. "And you couldn't have just let the moment last?"

Once again, a smile with no regrets. It was slightly ruined by how his head was beginning to turn red from the blood rushing to it. "Nope! I am the self-professed enemy of love and justice, there's no way I could let something as romantic as you two carry on unopposed."

After his two friends, the bald guy and the one with glasses, got expelled, Issei was pretty listless for a while. The entire school was hoping it would give him a reality check and he'd lay off his ways. Instead, Issei took it into his head that he'd carry on their "sacred mission" by himself.

Going by the self-claimed moniker of "Perverted Solo," he spent his time either training with Rias or peeking on the various girls. And the training he did only made him better at it too, something that was incredibly frustrating to Sona, who was still unable to expel him since he was part of Rias' peerage.

Kioko threw her hands in the air, giving up on trying to dissuade him. "Fine, whatever. But if you've been here for that long, what's up with them?" She gestured towards the crowd of people that were coming across the campus. She had a point. If Issei had been with us so long, shouldn't they never have known he was peeking on them?

Issei flashed another vibrant grin. "I left them a note, of course!"

…Because of course he did. This was Issei, he never did anything by halves. At least he never did the stupid things by halves. I cocked an eyebrow at him. "And do Rias and Asia know you're up to this?" Those two seemed to be the only ones that could keep him in line, Rias with promises of something better to look at, and Asia with her silent but teary disapproval.

Issei flinched for the first time in the conversation, a hint of guilt showing on his face. "…Well no, they don't." The thoroughly flushed face retracted and after a moment, the young devil dropped down onto the ground on front of the stairs, landing safely but with his face still completely red.

Issei stood up with a smirk and a casual salute, apparently uncaring of the miniature mob heading his way. "Thanks for the chat guys, I'd better get going before those guys catch up to me." He sent the two of us a final wave before taking off, just as the club of gi-clothed students caught up. Mostly made up of boys, but with two girls leading the charge with angry blushes on their face.

Then they were gone again. I shook my head, unbelievingly. "Knowing Issei, he probably left a critical review on that 'note' of his, too." Kioko laughed next to me in agreement. It would be just like him.

He really had changed in the last month, though. If Issei hadn't left the safety of the canopy, the club probably would have just passed by, completely missing him. I was pretty sure at this point that he _let_ the clubs catch him most of the time, some kind of atonement for the peeking. He still enjoyed perverted things and peeking, that was for sure, but now he did it all with a lackadaisical kind of seriousness. At this rate he would become a school legend instead of a school horror story.

I stood up and stretched my arms wide, disregarding both the ache in my damaged arm and the glare that Kioko shot me for the careless action. "The student council wanted me up in their little attic thing after school again, so I should probably head over before Sona sends Shinra-senpai after me."

The student council president tended to be rather strict about these things, and she had been annoyed but resigned to the fact that I already had two hours set aside each day for training. Didn't stop her from insisting I stopped by once a week after training anyway.

Kioko wrinkled her nose, clearly unhappy as she looked worriedly up at me. "I still don't like how she calls you in for her 'desensitization' like you're some tool." And yes, she used air quotes again. Yes, my girlfriend was adorable.

I sent a mischievous smile back at her. "Sure that you're not just jealous of me being around the all-female student council?" It was something I was worried about, actually. Did Kioko feel like I was being stolen from her, spending so much time around other girls, whether for training or to help them?

Kioko blushed, but didn't look away. "As if, I know you're too hard-headed for anything they'll try."

"I'll take that as a compliment," I drawled, ignoring the casual assumption that they would be trying to get my attention at all. I was already lucky enough that one amazing person had hit her head hard enough to see me romantically, it would take a nuclear apocalypse for it to happen again.

We stayed there in silence for a moment before I broke it, rubbing my head slightly awkwardly. "Yeah, I'm just going to help though. So don't worry about any of that stuff. See you later, Kioko!"

As I headed inside the school and began the long walk up to the highest floor, I mentally bemoaned my social skills. Couldn't I have reassured her a little more, given her a hug or something? Man, I really hope she wasn't worrying about me.

Hmm, maybe I should get something for her on the way back home? Ice cream might be nice, but it would probably melt before I got home. Assuming Koneko didn't bump into me by "accident" again and make off with the frozen treat. Was she a highway robber or something?

My thoughts continued as I made my way towards the student council offices.

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

Pushing open the door into the office, I was met with a chorus of greetings from most of the peerage and a stack of paperwork pushed onto me by Momo before I was led to a small table in the corner and told to be done in a half hour.

I huffed lightly and rolled my eyes at being so casually treated, but started going over the stack anyway, writing notes on what needed to be dealt with by Sona herself or what could be relegated to others. Not being an official part of the student council, I couldn't actually sign any documents myself, but I could at least make it easier for the others.

Since I'd first begun coming at Sona's request, the rest of the peerage had slowly warmed up to me, although Tsubaki and Tsubasa still seemed to dislike me and Momo would spend as little time around me as possible. It certainly hadn't stopped them from pushing as much work onto me as they could.

The others seemed to get along with me alright, though I was confused as to why Tomoe kept challenging me to arm wrestling contests or why Reya would keep coming to me and asking for pens. Did I seem like the type to carry pens around with me all the time?

Christie tended to act odd as well, avoiding me for most of the time I spent in the offices and then moving in for the last five minutes and hovering around me until I left. Sona, the one who actually called me here, would force herself to talk to me a few times before stiffly leaving to return to her actual duties.

I honestly didn't mind helping them out, since it hopefully meant becoming friends with the student council, and no harm could come from having friends in high places. Maybe I could get let off from running in the halls once in a while?

Ha, fat chance. I got the feeling that Sona was the type to go even harder on her friends than on strangers. So in a way, doing this made it even more dangerous for me. I sighed out loud and pulled the next portion of paperwork closer to me on the small desk, flipping through it to get the main points.

Half an hour later, I was done with the three-inch stack of paperwork and leaned back in my wooden chair, stretching to try and work the kinks out of my back and wrist. I easily ignored the pulling ache from my burn, focusing on loosening up my muscles instead.

A throat cleared in front of me and I looked up to see Sona standing in front of me. And by in front of me I mean a good meter away from the desk I was at, but that was honestly probably the same thing when it came to Sona. "Yes, Kaichou? Anything else I need to do?"

Sona shook her head, but her eyes kept darting around for something to draw her attention away from me and her hands were tightly held behind her back. Said back was still perfectly rigid though. That was Sona, never losing her perfect posture. "Not for the moment, but as I am currently without duties, I was wondering if you would be willing to play a game of chess?"

I'd never played chess before, but I'd looked it up before when finding out if being a "pawn" meant anything. Turns out they can promote to any other piece while in enemy territory, and I was passive-aggressive against Rias for a week that she didn't tell me. And after Sona went to the trouble of inviting me to a game, how could I refuse?

"Yeah, that sounds fun," I said, moving the paperwork onto the floor so we had enough room. Sona pulled out a chessboard from somewhere in her own massive desk, attracting the attention of the rest of the council.

"Hey, Kaichou's gonna cream the new guy!" Ruruko shouted, and chairs scooted back to crowd around and watch the spectacle. Reya tried in vain to calm them down, but even Tsubaki and Tsubasa came around, standing behind me with a threatening aura.

Their presence eased Sona's mind though, the President's movements smoothing as she set up the chessboard with a practiced ease, precisely chiseled figures quickly materializing before each of us. Sona was white, while I played black.

It was an… interesting game, since the majority of the peerage cheered each time their king took one of my pieces, while the two shadows behind me would lean forward threateningly each time I prepared to take one of her own. A situation that only happened thrice in the entire game.

I was beaten in twenty rounds, a number that Tomoe gleefully shouted out, apparently having been keeping track. I was sure that the group would split up and go back to their original duties after that, but Sona began to set up the chess board again without asking for a rematch and the peerage stayed.

The second game only lasted seventeen rounds before I was defeated, and it got worse from there. Not necessarily in the number of turns it took, but Sona grew _vicious,_ intentionally hunting down my pieces before calling checkmate, while always keeping the game under twenty rounds.

By game five I was simply throwing my pieces in the way of her inexorable forces, just trying to buy enough time to reach that forbidden turn twenty-one. I was once again denied as a bishop I'd forgotten about slipped through my defenses and trapped my king.

Three games later and I was beginning to despair, both whether the chain of games would ever end and whether the school would go up in flames without the paperwork completed. The rest of the council had never said as much, exactly, but with the rigid deadlines I was always given, I'd assumed it was something along those lines.

The only bright point of the entire ordeal was that Sona seemed to become more at ease each game, casually pointing out moves I should have taken a turn too late and taking a sick joy in crushing both my pieces and my spirits.

Then after the tenth game, as if by some secret signal, Sona packed away the chess set and the peerage scattered, the scratch of pencil on paper more frenzied than usual. Was this some kind of tradition or something?

Surprisingly though, Sona chose to stay behind. As her friends left I saw her walls rise slightly, her back straightening and her hands folding in front of herself, but she was still more relaxed than she usually was while in my presence. "So, you are bad at chess," she said with an air of amusement.

I threw my hands in the air, exasperated. "Well, what caused you to come to that conclusion?" I asked, voice dripping with sarcasm. I noticed the corner of her mouth lift up into a smile and let loose a huff, folding my arms.

Clearing her throat, Sona looked into my eyes. "Well, not simply that. I can tell a lot about a person by how they play chess." Oh just great, not only did she know I was an idiot, she probably knew I was _right-handed_ too.

"So," the president continued, still keeping her gaze locked onto my own, "Kai-san. Why don't you value yourself?"

The joke died on my lips as things that Kioko had said to me previously rang through my head. I didn't pause though, my smile remaining on my face. "Where'd you get something like that from a chess game? You could probably tell me my IQ by now, but that seems a little far-fetched."

Sona shook her head, finally looking down at the desk and at her fingers, nervously intertwined with each other. "When you were playing," she continued as though I hadn't spoken, "you were always playing to win, to beat me."

Well yeah, wasn't that the point of chess? I opened my mouth to say as much, but the words froze in my mouth as those violet eyes pinned my own once again through her glasses. Sona shook her head, both disappointed and worried. "That's not the goal of chess, Kai-san. The goal of chess is to _protect your king_.

"Both chess and war should never be about simply defeating your opponent, or reaching some goal and saying 'that's good enough.'" I was frozen as the shorter girl went on, laying down facts as if they were law. While I supposed she was right, did that mean each game within twenty rounds was to test me? That actually kinda stung, that I had been played that much.

I kept my expression unchanging as the girl in front of me went on. "Not only did you begin to focus more on extending the game instead of reaching a true goal, from the beginning, you never even _tried_ to defend your _most important piece_ except for when it was directly in danger. And even then it was because keeping it alive would extend the game."

Her hand rose, and I got the feeling that she would have poked me in the chest if I wasn't male. Those violet eyes, when glaring at me like that, actually reminded me a lot of another pair of purple eyes, and I had to resist the urge to grab my suddenly-aching chest.

The sensation faded as the president's voice grew quieter, her gaze more subdued. "So why, Kai-san, is it that you don't value yourself? What is so important that you would place yourself at second value to it?" My first instinct was to jokingly say "everything," but I got the feeling that would be a bad idea.

Instead I gave another smile, waving off the accusation. "Oh come on, it's just a game. It's not like I'd do something like that in real life." True enough, it's not like I'd ever be commanding troops.

Sona stared at me, eyes trying to search my own for truthfulness. I met her gaze squarely and buried the guilt. After a moment the president opened her mouth again. "Are you aware that you have a file at the police station?"

What? "I do?" I asked, still not sure if she was telling the truth or looking for some kind of reaction. "But I've never been arrested or even stopped for something before." Why would the police have a file on me? I'd never done anything illegal. Well, nothing illegal that could be proved. Or at least they hadn't yet.

I realized that the scratch of graphite on paper had stopped, apparently the other members were listening in. I felt a brief flash of anger at that before reigning it in. I couldn't control them, and Sona must have done this in public for some reason.

The girl before me shook her head. "Not for that. It's a record of all the times victims have claimed that a male with black hair and brown eyes helped them. They don't know it's you yet, but I was able to put the clues together."

I resisted the urge to sink down into my seat at hearing that. "Oh, that," I said lamely. It made sense they would have something like that, but I'd just never thought about it before. And was that really such a big deal?

Screwing up my courage, I squared my shoulders and looked back with a stern expression. "Okay, but what does that have to do with not valuing myself? I just helped out when I could."

Sona rose an unbelieving eyebrow. "Some of the crimes you stopped were committed late at night, well past when a high-schooler should be asleep. I wonder what causes a boy your age to take long midnight walks in the darker parts of town."

Okay, she had me there. So maybe I looked for them once or twice, but only when it was some kind of repeated case! She made it sound like I was sneaking out nightly to hunt down criminals or something.

"And what does that have to do with me not protecting myself?" I asked again. It was starting to feel repetitive, but she kept dodging around the question.

The violet-eyed girl closed her eyes in concentration, before beginning to recite something. "October twelfth, twenty-twelve. Nichi Kusari and Nichi Irai were awoken by their doorbell ringing at about three in the morning. Opening the door, Nichi Kusari discovered an unconscious man in black clothes and with a bag next to him. Upon the body was a note apologizing for the disturbance, and an advisory to call the police."

The situation was starting to come back to me and I was honestly stunned that she was able to locate the event and actually pin it to me.

"Upon arrival, the police discovered that the unconscious man was in possession of an illegal firearm and his bag was filled with burglars tools. The man was taken in and upon later questioning revealed that he had been in the act of breaking into the Nichi household when a mysterious assailant had come up behind him and applied a chokehold until he was unconscious. The robber reported that he attempted to shoot his attacker, but the gun was knocked from his hand before being able to."

Sona gave me a look, like she often did, but this one seemed different. "So, you attacked an armed robber while he was in the act of robbery, and instead of taking him to the police, you left that to an elderly couple?"

I licked my lips before slowly opening my mouth. "…Can I say how impressive it is that you can recite all that from memory?" The glare Sona shot me was answer enough and I raised my hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, I get it! I just didn't want to be well-known or anything, I guess. I mean, there's not much point, and vigilantism is illegal, isn't it? So see, I _was_ looking out for myself."

The gaze that Sona leveled at me was so loaded with pity that it made me twitch. It wasn't like that, really. I just… wanted to help. They were a nice couple and I didn't want anything to happen to them. Probably. I didn't know them, but they _seemed_ like nice people.

After a moment of silence, the girl before me slowly rose from her seat at the desk. "It seems that we will have to continue these sessions." I heard a few sounds of agreement from the other members behind her, but I didn't get it.

"Huh? Continue what?" Please not the chess, _please_ not the chess.

Instead of replying to me, the president turned away and made her way to her own desk. "Next week at the same time, Kai-san. You are dismissed if you wish." The sound of paperwork resumed as the others returned to their duties as well.

Yeah, I had no clue what was going on. I just shrugged instead of arguing though, simply happy that she was willing to drop the subject. Gathering my things, I made my way to the door, but was interrupted before I reached it by Christie, the silent silver-haired girl.

"What's wrong?" I asked, unsure of what she needed. Christie tended to be a little odd, but she didn't seem like the kind to come to me about her problems.

The quiet girl stalled for a bit, a look of hesitation on her face, before she swooped in and engulfed me in a hug. I was sure I heard the sound of a pen dropping onto a desk, but I was a little preoccupied at the moment.

While Christie tended to hover at times, she had refrained from actually touching me before, and I was surprised to find that her body was cold, almost like ice. Apparently feeling my hesitation, Christie began to pull away.

I restrained a shiver and returned the embrace, wrapping my arms around the girl in what I hoped was a comforting manner. For whatever reason, she had chosen to come to me for this, and I'd be both a lousy person and assistant if I couldn't endure a little cold to do what I could.

It was a little longer before Christie pulled away, but I let her go, offering a smile at her embarrassed face. I didn't know what that was about, but it really wasn't that bad in the end, and hopefully it helped her.

Ruffling the slightly shorter girl's hair, I passed by her and exited the student council rooms. Closing the door behind me, I gave a long sigh and stretched once more to get rid of any lingering cramps.

Then I paused, and stretched my left arm again. Any lingering pain from the burn was gone. Rolling up my sleeve, I carefully unwrapped the bandage only to see unblemished skin. Huh, maybe Christie was the one helping me instead. I looked back at the door once again, but it didn't feel right to poke my head back in for something as small as a thank you. I'd just have to be nicer to her in exchange.

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

I fought the urge to facepalm and focused on the work at my desk, documents that only the president could sign. I also did my best to ignore the silver-haired girl that was almost floating back to her own desk, a dreamy look on her face.

 _Not. My. Problem._

But if she started turning in her paperwork signed as "Kai Christie," me and her were going to have _words_ about how she could be better spending her time.

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

It was the afternoon of the next day and so far, it was following the same pattern as usual. Being shunned by my classmates, Issei excitedly bursting in and telling me about a dream he had with Rias and a maid, Asia trying to distract him, and spending time with Kioko after school.

I wish I could talk with Kioko more, or just go home and catch up on my reading. Instead I have to suffer more tort- I mean, training. I was already tired after staying up late the night before, trying to convert my mana into physical force and still failing to lift even a piece of paper. Adding more grueling sparring sessions and, inevitably, "punishment" on top of that was enough to make me want to skip town.

When I told this to Kioko, she both called my bluff and called me a wimp, telling me to go and train already. Some supportive girlfriend _she_ was…

Still grumbling under my breath as I opened the door to the borrowed acrobatics dojo, I was somewhat surprised to see nobody else present in the room. Usually Akeno was here by the time I arrived, waiting gleefully for her next chance to legally beat me up.

Instead, there was a white piece of paper on the ground in the middle of the empty area. Another one of Akeno's tricks, perhaps? I was cautious as I crossed the room, carefully placing each foot down to make sure I didn't step on any traps until I was standing in front of the suspicious parchment.

Bending down to pick it up, the paper read: "M-kun, you're late again." Whether or not that's true has nothing to do with this letter! "In a meeting with Rias, come as soon as you arrive. There will be punishment afterwards." We're already assuming that? I haven't even done anything wrong yet!

At the very end of the paper was a small footnote. "P.S. This message will-"

I immediately broke off from reading and tossed the paper away from me. I'd read enough spy novels to know where _that_ was going. A scant second later, a magic circle pulsed on the back of the lightly fluttering piece of paper and burned it to a crisp, leaving only ash to land on the wooden floor.

I gave the scattered remnants a deadpan stare before sighing and rummaging through the dojo's closets to find a broom. Honestly, didn't that girl think this through? No way I could leave a mess like this behind when we were the ones borrowing the room.

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

A few minutes later I was seeing something I really wish I hadn't. I mentally ran over the checklist of what I did to get here. Entered the old school building. Walked up the stairs. Found the main clubroom. Opened the door. Yep, everything seemed normal.

So why was I currently staring at a blonde haired stranger in a red suit deeply kissing some purple-haired girl with not nearly enough clothing in said clubroom!

The "action" seemed to pause as the occupants of the room took in my new presence. I noticed the members of Rias' peerage on one side of the room, while there was a good dozen _more_ women on the other side, close to the blonde guy.

I blinked. "…Excuse me, I can see you're busy." I quickly closed the door and once again checked to ensure I had the right place. Indeed, this was the same door I'd gone through many times before, including the smear of red on the left side that I was pretty sure was blood.

Taking a deep breath, I pushed open the room door again to see the same scene as before, but instead the red-jacketed guy was openly squeezing the woman's chest with a disgusting look on his face. Okay, that was the limit.

I was already walking across the room at a fast clip when I noticed Issei with his new gauntlet out looking at the stranger with an angry expression. Was he seriously about to attack some random guy out of jealousy? It was probably better I broke this up before someone got hurt.

"Look," I said, getting closer, "You can mess with your girlfriend all you like in private, but don't do that kind of stuff in here!" I waved a hand over towards Rias' side of the room, and more particularly towards Koneko. "Quit corrupting the children!"

Koneko gave me a glare that promised more candy shakedowns coming to me in the near future. I was already regretting the way I'd decided to handle this. While looking in her direction, I noticed Rias' face growing paler and trying to subtly motion me back toward her.

Well that probably meant this guy was dangerous somehow, didn't it. Well… drat. I'd just look weak for backing out though, so it was probably best if I didn't suddenly try to retreat.

Looking back at the messy-haired blonde, I immediately noticed both his distinctly annoyed expression and the fact that I could practically feel the demonic energy emanating from him at this range. Guess I should have let Issei handle him after all, huh.

"And who is this _fool_?" The admittedly-handsome stranger asked, pinning a scathing gaze away from me. …Eh, let's go for broke.

I straightened up and looked him as square in the eye as I could without viewing his scantily-dressed girlfriend. "Excuse me? I'm an idiot, not a fool. And my name's Kai Kado. Now will you _please_ take your hands off your girlfriend?"

The stranger raised an eyebrow, but did as asked, letting the girl go as he stared me down. The girl, for her part, shot me a nasty look as she walked back to the rest of the girls on that side of the room. And if he was a devil…

"Why do you have a peerage with only girls?" I asked him straight-up, really hoping the answer wasn't what I thought it was.

The predictable response came from behind me, instead. "The fried-chicken has a _harem_ , Kado-san! He's already got himself a harem and yet he's still going after Buchou!" It was depressing how much I had expected that. Although the last part was new.

The "fried-chicken" flashed me an aggressive grin as he stepped closer into my personal space. "Apparently, you're another one of Rias' devils that doesn't know about me. Well then, allow me to introduce myself."

His hand rose in front of him before an orange flame burst into life, uncomfortably close to my cheek. "My name is Riser Phenex, and Rias Gremory is my fiancee." Before I could think the words were already tumbling out of my mouth.

"Well that's odd, because Rias hasn't ever mentioned you before. And don't you already have a girlfriend?"

The stranger's eyes darkened, an arrogant sneer covering his face. "I don't believe you are in a position to call _my_ fiancee by her first name. And it is none of your business what I do with _my_ peerage."

"Sounding awfully possessive there, aren't you?" I shot back, not budging. "Surely you're not worried about her doing things with someone else behind your back, are you?" I widened my eyes in realization. "Oh wait! That's exactly what _you_ _'re_ doing!"

I noticed the flame next to my face burning hotter with each statement, scalding my cheek, but didn't stop for two reasons. One, I was an idiot. And two, this guy really made me mad. "And not just double-timing either. This seems to be…"

I did a quick head count and mentally widened my eyes at the fact that he had a full peerage. "…sedecimtuple-timing?" I gave the now-furious devil an admiring glance. "Wow, that is _bold_. Imagine if her family found out and canceled the whole engagement? Then wouldn't you just be heartbroken?"

At this point I was clearly overstepping my boundaries and the strangled noises of panic coming from behind me were pretty clear that I really should start apologizing now if I wanted to walk away with all of my face.

Refer back to reason one, if you will.

The Phenex was snarling at me now, almost spitting his words. "Now you listen to _me_ , you low-ranked _worm_!" Ouch. My soul. "The Gremory's are the ones who _begged_ us to accept the contract! This is for the survival of the seventy-two pillars!" Yeah, that meant nothing to me.

I interrupted his tirade, staring him straight in the eyes and not backing down. "And _you_ are the one who is taking advantage of that contract to prey upon someone else." Admittedly, I was assuming that Rias was against the engagement, but this guy didn't really seem like her type.

"So the question is," I asked as casually as I could with what felt like a miniature sun next to my face, "are you the kind of person who doesn't take other people's feelings into account and simply take what they want, or are you the kind of person who's so arrogant that they genuinely believe nobody else matters."

His pupils were practically shaking with rage and beginning to turn red, but I kept my gaze locked on them. What kind of person are you, Riser Phenex? When you're pushed to the breaking point, how do you respond?

I got my answer when his hand-o'-fire came up in a sizzling punch that was directly aimed at my face. I yelped and lurched back, but had already given up my roguish good looks for the cause when a burst of cold so violent that it left frost on my cheek flashed just past me and landed on the incoming hand, extinguishing the flame and leaving vicious cracks in the skin.

The enraged look in the blonde's eyes immediately died down and his fist paused just before hitting me. It held in place for a moment before falling back to his red-jacketed side as he turned away, the damaged skin already fading.

"Girls, we're leaving," the Phenex bit out, walking to stand in the middle of his peerage. "Ten days, Rias." As the teleportation circle beneath his group activated, he shot me a look full of burning hatred. "Be grateful for the interruption. When we next meet, I will _destroy_ your for your arrogance."

Then they were gone. After a moment of pause, I turned back to the shocked peerage with a wide smile. "Well, that went better than expected." Then I blinked and noticed something that I was _positive_ hadn't been there before. "Wait a second, when did that maid get here?" Was she a ninja-maid? She must have been the one who shot that burst of cold too, since I didn't think even Akeno was that good at cold magic.

Which made her _dangerous_. I hadn't even felt any kind of demonic power fluctuation, so a carefully targeted beam of cold that vicious was as easy to this person as breathing. If I ever faced off against her, I wouldn't stand a chance.

Apparently that was enough to jolt the rest of the peerage into movement. Naturally Issei was the first one, bounding up to me with all the excitement of a puppy. "That was _awesome_ , Kado-san! You just walked up and told him off like it was nothing!"

Asia was next, rushing up next to me and nervously manifesting _Twilight Healing_ to heal my burned and frozen cheek. I noted with a sense of sadness that she still wouldn't say a word to me or look me directly in the eyes. It had been like that ever since Issei and the rest rescued her, but I wished she would tell me what was wrong so I could try and fix it.

I felt a harsh tap on my back that sent me stumbling forward almost into Issei. Standing up straight again, I glanced back to see Koneko behind me with an outstretched fist and a glare. But she hadn't hit me as hard as usual, so I guess that was her way of saying I did okay?

Rias followed afterwards, glaring me down while I could see her eyes roving my face and down my clothes, making sure I wasn't too hurt. "You idiot, what made you do something so stupid? That was a high-ranked devil that you insulted, and he's going to remember how you slighted him."

A hand laid on my shoulder was the main sign of support I got from Kiba, but I tuned out both the soothing coolness in my right cheek and Issei's chatter to focus on Rias. "Nice to know you're worried about me, Rias." I flashed a grin before absentmindedly rubbing the back of my neck. "And yeah, I shouldn't have gone that far. Sorry if it causes trouble for you later."

The red-head's eyes flashed, but she let the subject drop. I realized someone was missing and looked around for Akeno. She was hanging back by the couches with a tray of tea in her hands and a faraway look. "Erm, Akeno-san?" I called out. Did she know the guy or something?

The black-haired sadist blinked before refocusing onto me, a wide grin splitting her face as mirth danced in her eyes. "Ara ara, so bold, M-kun. Facing down fire like that without flinching. Are you perhaps looking to pursue Buchou yourself with that kind of fervor?"

Issei yelped an objection and Koneko hit me again, but I just laughed. "Nah, I'm happy enough with Kioko, I'm not looking for anything else. She'll probably make someone else very happy, I'm just trying to do my job and make sure it's not _that_ jerk." I pointed a thumb back towards the vacant teleportation pad.

Rias' face went slightly red at that comment, but I didn't miss her reflexive turn of the head towards the still-complaining pervert next to me. I guess she was worried about how he'd take it, and rightfully so, since he'd already begun shouting about how Rias was gonna be in his harem, and there was no way he was going to hand her over to fried-chicken or a chivalrous idiot.

Which, in turn, made Asia pout and tug on his sleeve to try and get his attention, clearly not happy about him talking about other girls while he already had her. I mentally shook my head as I realized that we've already got a womanizer almost as bad as Riser Phenex in here. And then Koneko hit me again, for some reason. First she mugs me for sweets, now it's senseless violence? What was with this girl?

A throat cleared, Rias and Akeno immediately snapping to attention and facing towards the person who caused the sound, the stern-looking silver-haired maid of doom. Rias went so far as to slap a hand over Issei's mouth, immediately cutting him off so that the room was silent.

The maid's icy glare zeroed in directly onto me before she began talking in a glacial tone. "While Riser Phenex went too far with a direct attack upon one of Ojou-sama's pieces, you are not innocent either, provoking him like that. Be more conscious of your position as a pawn in Ojou-sama's peerage." So don't get cocky, huh?

Her mere voice and attention was enough to make me swallow in apprehension, but when did I let a little something like abject terror for my existence stop me? "My apologies, maid-san." I gave a short bow to show my sincerity and also because I had the feeling that if I didn't respect this lady, she would blast me to pieces. "But I couldn't simply stand there and let him be."

As if I could do nothing while Rias had that look of anger mixed with fear on her face. Anyone who made someone else cry or be scared like that needed to be dealt with, one way or another. And yeah, that basically made me the scum of the earth, didn't it.

The older woman held my gaze for another moment before deciding that I was undeserving of her attention and turning away. "Very well. Ensure it does not happen again." I released a silent breath of relief, relaxing somewhat. That lady was _scary_. But she had been content to stand back in the corner and look on without interfering while Riser was clearly disrespecting Rias, so she had already lost some of my respect.

While the room was still hushed from the maid's aura, I turned to Rias. "Just to make sure, you don't want to be engaged to that guy, do you?" Rias' face had a disgruntled expression before it became somewhat complicated, although I could detect anger, worry, and… guilt mixed in there.

Eventually she sighed and raised her gaze to meet my own. "Yes. I want to be free from this accursed engagement, and that's what I've been spending my time in the human world working towards."

I nodded and met her resolve with my own, smiling something between a smirk and a grin. "Then you have me on your side, Rias. I'll do whatever I can to help." Because when had Kai Kado abandoned someone who needed saving?

The moment barely held for a second before it was broken, Issei clamoring, Koneko hitting me again, and Akeno making more vague insinuations above the crowd. Rias though, returned my smile with a vicious one of her own. "I'm very glad to hear that." Then she called over to the maid in the corner. "Grayfia, do we still have that summer property in the mountains?"

…Why does that question send shivers up my spine?

* * *

End AN: Everyone feels OOC now.

Fun Fact: I looked it up, and apparently fiancee is the term for the female engagement partner, while fiancé is the male. I always just thought they were the same thing before.

Points of interest: Sona has now accepted Kado beneath her wing and will proceed to mother-hen him until he dies. She's both worried about his mental well-being and worried about accidentally driving him away, so she's trying to take it slow while still being way more forceful than a normal person.

And for the record, Christie is the only person in Sona's peerage who has a crush on Kado, but Kioko is paranoid and sees five child-hungry-harpies where there really aren't any. She hasn't taken any action yet since they haven't been overt, but she is pretty unhappy with the entire peerage right now.

Akeno's backed off on the physical teasing after Kioko talked to her, but has no problems with innuendo and her more sadistic tendencies, which Kioko sees as barely acceptable.

Don't have much else in the way of comments or clarifications, but please let me know if I missed something or you have a question. See you all next time!


	13. In Which Mistakes are Made

AN: Well that didn't go as well as I'd hoped.

So, less than 10k! I did end up splitting it into two chapters, but it also means the training trip is going to be two chapters. I do apologize for that. I did write about 10k words this week, about a chapters worth. I also deleted about 5k of it and another 2k was an essay I wrote by accident. So I'm going to be catching up for a while.

And more AU stuff, I changed up the magic system to suit my own tastes because I am both lazy and clearly have too much time on my hands.

Warnings: Nothing, unless you have a fear of electric shocks. Or massive amounts of pain, actually.

Disclaimer: Again, I don't own anything and would have been a child when the first volume of DxD was published. Well, a younger child at least.

* * *

I was dreaming of something. A crooked truth and a straight lie, a lost thing found in eternity. And it had teeth.

Then a wave of pure cold ran over my back, down my spine, and impaled my brain, causing my eyes to fly open with a yelp as I attempted to perform a panicked retreat only to topple off the bed, landing on the floor in a soggy heap. After taking a moment to figure out which was was up and clutch the blanket tighter to my shivering body, I glared up at the perpetrator of my sudden wakeup call, who was pretending to hide her laughter with the back of one hand.

"That was both cruel and completely uncalled for, Akeno-san." I'm sure I would have gotten up if she had simply called me. Probably. Eventually.

For some reason that made her laugh even harder, not even trying to pretend she wasn't, her twinkling eyes fixed on the blanket I had tucked back around me as if trying to peer through to the soaked form beneath it. "But it worked _and_ was entertaining! Which means it was _completely_ necessary."

I rolled my eyes and gave it up as a lost cause, letting the soggy blanket drop as I stood up and swung out my arms to get some stray drops of water off, doing absolutely nothing to help my situation. "Yeah yeah, whatever. So why do you need me awake all of a sudden?" I briefly glanced outside one of the large windows in the guest room I was borrowing. "And when the sun's barely up, too?"

Akeno gave me an apologetic shrug she clearly didn't mean, smiling in that annoying way she did. "Well, you did sign up for a training trip, didn't you? We only have ten days, after all."

The look I shot back was clearly not impressed. "I didn't sign up for anything, you guys told me we were going to work on training, shoved a pack into my arms and basically dragged me up here last night."

While I was impressed that Rias had an entire _mansion_ hidden away just a short while away from the town, I was considerably less impressed to be informed that Rias had wagered her engagement on us being able to get stronger than a literal _phoenix_ and a fully trained peerage in ten days.

It was only slightly better to hear that it was her only shot at freedom, but was she really expecting us to improve that drastically in such a short amount of time? Rias and Akeno were both really serious about it though, so I'd just have to do what I could.

"So, again, why'd you wake me up?" I queried, mentally weighing the odds of it being for an actual reason or Akeno just taking the opportunity to mess with me while she had it. So far, the latter one was winning out over the rest.

Akeno hummed slightly, but I could feel her demonic energy beginning to shift slightly. "Well it's probably a good idea to start with the basics, so Rias decided people would be running laps around the house."

I nodded, still suspicious and keeping an eye on her hand. "Uhuh. And is everyone else waking up to cold water, too?"

The black-haired devil gave a warm smile that had probably stolen the hearts of hundreds of men already, tilting her head and clasping her hands daintily in front of her chest. It just made me shiver. "Nope~ I insisted that I be the one to handle my cute student. Besides," her hand raised up and a flicker of static jumped between her outstretched fingers. "Consider this to be… extra motivation."

I briefly glanced down at my soaked pajamas before paling, realizing just what Akeno had planned. I slowly dragged my head up and gave Akeno the most pleading look I could muster. "You wouldn't… right?"

Akeno just smiled.

Not two seconds later I was dashing out the door of my room, jumping down the large marble staircase and ripping open the door to begin my laps. And why was this house so huge! It had to be five-hundred meters around the whole thing!

On my first lap, I was too panicked to notice anything except my possible demise by reverse-defibrillator.

On the third, I realized I hadn't seen Kiba, Koneko, or Issei yet.

By the fourth, I knew that something was up.

I slowed to a stop as I rounded the bend, panting heavily but still standing upright as I glared at Akeno's peaceful face. "Where… are the others…"

She blinked innocently back at me, before looking at the horizon to gauge how high the sun was. "Probably still in bed. They should be up in about an hour."

"Akeno-san?" I said, looking into her eyes seriously. "I hate you." My declaration was quickly followed by a yelp as a bolt of yellow lightning skimmed my left shoulder and I quickly set out on my fifth lap, mentally cursing Akeno the whole way.

True to her word, the other members of the peerage showed up about an hour later, refreshed and surprised to see me slowly making my way around the house, one lumbering step at a time.

"Hey, Kado!" Issei ran up next to me and put a hand on my shoulder. At least I think it was Issei. It sounded like him, but I couldn't tell since everything was just a blur by that point. "What are you doing out here so early?"

I didn't have enough air or energy to respond and just focused on making another step forwards. Then Issei let out a gasp tinged with betrayal. "Did you get up early so that you could spend all this time training alone with Akeno? How could you!"

Issei's words seemed to come through a thick haze as though they were traveling underwater and I couldn't think to react to them, but I faintly felt a sensation of a hand heavily slapping my back before I realized I had just lost my balance and was falling forwards. That's the point that I blacked out.

That basically set the stage for the rest of the days activities. Rias seemed to have taken most of her cues from "Shounen Training for Dummies", since the schedule, which she had shown off with a proud look on her face after everyone else had done their run and I had regained consciousness, involved hours of physical training followed by hours of sparring followed by hours of magical training.

I'd noticed there were some thirty minute gaps between the scheduled times and latched on with the intensity of a drowning man, practically begging Rias to tell us that those were breaks.

Rias, the sadist-in-training she was, happily explained that those were times when either she or Akeno were going to take one or more of us off to the side to go over "special" training. She winked as she said that, but it didn't stop me from mournfully whistling the imperial march as Rias joyfully paraded us out to the courtyard for our prescribed three hours of physical exertion.

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

My back hit the warm and far-too green grass with a thump, proof of Kiba's victory _yet again_. Really, what was the point of having me fight Kiba to try and learn how to use a sword? That certainly hadn't done anything when I was fighting against Akeno for a month, so how was it supposed to work in three days?

As I was trying to find the strength of will in me to get back up again just to get knocked back down within seconds, I caught sight of Kioko's long blonde hair far away across the field. It was surprising that she'd managed to find this place, since I didn't think anyone in the peerage, including me, had told her where it was or what we had planned to be doing.

Distracted, I was caught completely unawares by a sharp tap on my head that sent sparks of pain trailing across my scalp. Wincing, I glared up at a sheepish but guiltless Kiba standing above me, lightly twirling a wooden sword in his hand. "Sorry, Kai-san, but Buchou said no slacking off."

You're enjoying this just as much as Akeno does, admit it! I groaned out loud and accepted his hand to pull me to my feet, stumbling slightly as my legs refused to support me for a split-second. I'd been "sparring" with Kiba for over an hour now, which equated to me uselessly trying to block his lightning-fast blows and failing as his sword would almost magically curve around my own to hit me at an area I wasn't protected.

"Hold on a second, Kiba," I said as he prepared to hand me my own practice sword. "I think I see Kioko over there." While it was slightly odd, I was almost expecting her to show up just when I needed her by now. I shouldn't get too used to it, but it was nice to have someone support me.

The agreeable knight held off for a moment to gaze across the wide yard we were using to practice in. "Hmm, that _does_ look like Horikawa-san," he mused. "That's odd, I don't think Rias had told her where we were holding the training…"

"Maybe Sona told her," I offered, but really didn't care so long as she gave me an opportunity for a break. I hadn't actually tasted food in days, just inhaled it before I fell asleep. Thank the gods for Kioko and her impeccable timing!

I couldn't help casting a pitying look over at Issei farther down the field. He was currently facing off against Koneko, supposedly to build up his strength and reflexes, but I'd heard Rias had given him the task of destroying a mountain by the end of training. Apparently she had high hopes for him.

Me? I was just hoping to not die. Even with my efforts in the last month, I was still a useless excuse for a pawn in comparison to… everyone else. Didn't mean I didn't have other ways of making Rias' wish happen, though. I was ruminating over possible ways of either finding or creating some corruption to dishonor Riser and get the contract nullified.

Stepping forward on wobbly legs to go see what Kioko was up to, I was blindsided by another hit on the back of my left knee, ruining my already unsteady balance and leaving me on my back once more.

Above me, Kiba was wearing the same faux-apologetic expression while deftly twirling his sword in intricate figure-eights, my own discarded one dangling from his other hand. "Sorry, but Buchou said to do that if you tried to quit halfway, too."

All my hatred, Rias. All my hatred. You too, Kiba, you accessory of murder-by-exhaustion. The police will hear of this and- and probably get hypnotized to ignore it. Stupid cheating devils who cheat.

Sighing, I somehow managed to get back on my feet and begrudgingly accepted my training sword back from Kiba. The knight walked a few steps away before pointing his sword at me, a sign that he was about to attack. I positioned myself at an angle to Kiba, putting forward a thinner outline for defense and held the blade out in front of me with both hands in what Kiba had told me was a beginner's sword stance.

Then all I saw was a blur of movement arcing towards me as I hastily brought my blade back in a horizontal parry to my right side, guessing he'd go for my stronger side. The honorable types were so easy to read.

His blade impacted against mine as he materialized for a second, the speed of his blow pushing the tip of my blade back and against my shoulder despite my resistance. Then his sword slid smoothly off the end of my own, leaving me off balance and pushing at something that wasn't there even as the knight's form blurred out of sight again.

I went with the momentum and lurched to the right, bending down on one knee in an impromptu duck that left Kiba's blade whistling above where my neck was moments before. This movement left my left leg dangerously outstretched and open, but Kiba wasn't the type to attack such an open target, especially when it might harm my ability to spar.

There was no chance of me actually landing a hit against Kiba the wonder-boy, and much less of one to actually win one of these short bouts, but Kiba tended to become ruthless when he thought I wasn't putting my all into each fight.

So I had no choice but to grit my teeth and push upwards off my right knee, pushing both arms and sword in front of me in a lunge that would hopefully at least be in the right direction. My balance was sloppy and blow pathetically weak, but it was the best I could come up with at the time.

Naturally, that was the exact wrong move to make and I saw Kiba's blandly excited eyes for a brief second before something cracked me hard in the side of my head and I lost consciousness for the fifth time that day.

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

As I came back to consciousness, I felt something hovering directly above me. Eyes flashing open, I took in the wide blue eyes and curtain of blonde hair looking sideways at my own face. I let a grin quirk up the corner of my mouth as I craned my neck upwards and lightly kissed the tips of her lips.

Letting my head fall back down onto the grass, I was suddenly feeling much better about the day's prospects. I looked up into her lightly blushing face and quirked an eyebrow in what I hoped was a roguishly charming manner. "So, how long were you waiting like that?" Her head pulled back and I could hear her insulted huff.

"I'll have you know I was prepared to perform CPR just in case you were in danger, but if you're going to be like that…" She left the threat unsaid, which was fine since I was pretty sure it was an empty one.

I hefted myself up onto my elbows and looked over at Kiba, standing nearby and still looking as immaculate as ever. "How long was she waiting to pull that off?"

The blonde knight glanced over at Kioko's face, a glimmer of good humor appearing in his eyes. "…I'd probably better not answer that. Sorry, Kai-san."

Rolling my eyes, I fell back down, using my arms as a makeshift pillow beneath my aching head. "You know, you apologize a lot. Anyone ever told you that?"

"Nobody that survived to tell the story."

My wide eyes slowly drifted over to the still grinning knight. I honestly couldn't tell if he was serious or not with those sincere pale blue eyes looking back at me. Then he cracked a smirk and I broke down laughing, pointing an accusing finger at the relaxed knight. "Haha, so you have a sense of humor in there after all!"

Kiba shrugged modestly. "I've toned it back a lot. As if fangirls need any more reasons to believe that I'm their soulmate." The usually-silent boy clasped his hands plaintively in front of his chest and fluttered his eyelashes upwards, sending me into another fit of laughter that Kioko joined in on. So this is what he was usually hiding behind his placid face, was it?

As the laughter calmed down, I was left lying on warm grass with a smile on my face and surrounded by friend and… family, I guess. Man, that just made this day even better. Kioko seemed to be enjoying herself too, which improved my own mood. I would hate for her to come all this way and have to sit back and watch me get beat up without having anything to do.

"So, about earlier," Kiba started, an embarrassed look on his face. "Sorry about knocking you unconscious before. I guess I got a little excited when you dodged those first two and got carried away. I should have been more careful."

Before I could wave it off and tell him it was fine, he continued, looking down at me with a worried expression. "Besides, you probably don't have many brain cells to spare as it is, I don't want you to lose any more."

I gave him a flat look in response to his newest joke. "Look buddy, it's all fun until-" I was interrupted by Kioko practically keeling over in laughter, eyes closed and hugging her stomach. "Oi oi, it's not that funny!"

"Y-Yes it _is!_ " Kioko stammered out between breaths, falling over onto the grass.

Well if you're going to be like that about it… I huffed and turned away, refusing to acknowledge her presence. Against my will though, I could feel the corner of my mouth tilting upwards. Is this the power of friendship all those shows were talking about? I could practically feel my spirits lifting just by being near these two.

Although I would probably shoot myself before I started talking about the magic of friendship like I was in a magical girl show.

And it was probably best if I changed the subject now, just to save Kioko from death by laughter. Only that and no other reason, really. "So Kiba," I asked, "How come you aren't already whacking me with your stick? Doesn't this count as slacking off?" Yes this meant more work, but I'd rather have that then Kioko's untimely demise on my hands. Also it was the only thing I could think of.

Kiba's hand holding the sword twitched upwards as I referred to his weapon as a stick, but he managed to hold himself back with admirable focus. "Well, Rias came by while you were unconscious…" the knight said, suddenly awfully interested in the distant forest. Kioko had stopped laughing as well, and was now keeping ominously silent.

Hefting myself up into a sitting position against the protestations of my aching ribs and stomach, I asked "So what did she say?" Was Kiba embarrassed that he'd gotten told off for hitting me too hard? Ha, serves him right after that dig about my brain cells!

After a brief pause, Kiba spoke hesitantly, as if afraid that I would attack him or something. "…She said that we _may_ have been pushing you hard and that you were ordered to head inside and get some rest, you can rejoin us for the magic practice later."

Really, I don't know why he was so worried if that was the message. It wasn't that I was being kicked out of the peerage or anything _really_ bad. Just that I didn't need to keep training. When Rias' future was on the line.

I couldn't help glancing across the green field to Issei, who was currently dodging Koneko, who was swinging a _tree_ at the brown-haired pervert. Compared to that, I had it easy. I kept a smile on my face, focusing on being able to actually rest my sore appendages for the first time in what felt like days. Instead of focusing on the fact that I was being dismissed as unimportant.

"Really? That's certainly nice of her, Kiba. Guess I'll head back to the mansion then." I stood up, brushing any stray grass stalks off my pants, and gave Kiba a smirk. "Who knows, maybe I'll even make you guys a late lunch when you get back."

The blonde gentleman looked faintly relieved at that, his eyes releasing the unspoken tension they had been holding. "Haha, I'd probably be safer eating plain rice than whatever you plan on making."

Holding a hand to my chest, I responded affronted. "Heathen! Clearly you have never tasted the wonders of my cooking then! I'll cook up a feast that will make you weep!" After a few more parting shots, we separated, me back to the main building while Kiba mentioned trying an obstacle course setup in the woods.

I was grateful as Kioko followed after me, not saying anything at the moment. We walked in silence for a short while before she hurried her pace to reach my side. "Don't worry," she said, lightly punching my arm. "You'll show them all. It's their loss if they don't see it yet."

All I could do at that was put an arm around Kioko's shoulders and pull her in closer, tilting my head so it touched hers. It seemed like she always knew exactly what I was feeling, and while it didn't suddenly change my mood around, my smile was just a bit more real as I stretched to my tiptoes and lightly kissed the top of her hair. "Yeah, it is, isn't it."

Walking through the large doors of the Gremory Summer Home(Small Version,) I considered what to do next. I had been joking about my cooking, and we still had about twenty pounds of curry leftover from Issei's sudden cooking spree. I had been virtually exiled from training outside for the time being, but I didn't want to be lying around doing nothing while everyone else did all they could for Rias.

Which only left one option. I turned my head to Kioko and gave the cockiest grin I could muster. "Hey, wanna come to my room and see me work some magic?"

Kioko's eyes widened and she stared at me for a few strained seconds while I mentally freaked out that I had said something wrong. Then she burst out laughing, even though I didn't even _do_ anything. "What?" I asked, confused. "What did I say?"

Putting a hand over her smiling mouth, my girlfriend managed to muffle her laughter with some difficulty. "No no, you're fine, really." That rogue giggle doesn't help your case. "Just… what you said could be taken a very different way," she explained.

"Really?" I said, thinking back over what I had said. In my room… working magic… "Nope," I said, giving up. "Got no clue what you mean."

Kioko rolled her eyes and grabbed my arm. "Right, right, sure. Come on then, I wanna see your _magic_." I went along with her pulling motion, still somewhat confused.

"But don't you already do magic? Why would this be any different?" I'd only realized that my attempt to impress her was doomed from the beginning after I'd said it. Curse my situational awkwardness!

She started laughing again as she pulled me up the large staircase. "What? What did I say?" Some days I felt like talking to Kioko was like running something through Gugle Translate a few times. Fun, but you had no idea what was happening.

A few minutes later, we were seated on opposite sides of an almost delicately polished table in the center of the lush room I was staying in. Rias tended to be on the vicious side when it came to training, but she certainly didn't skimp on making up for it by making sure that our rooms and sleep were as luxurious as any 5-star hotel.

That or this was just the level of luxury she was used to and she wasn't aware to leave us with anything else.

Currently, Kioko was looking down at me with a fake attentive look on her face, following my every motion while I… traced circles. Akeno hadn't budged from her stance that my current skills at circle-drawing being "absolutely impermissible," and refused to teach me anything about magic past drawing it out until I had actually been able to manage the basics.

So here I was, working my way through the fifth circle, straining to keep my hand as steady as possible while I edged it slowly around the paper. Kioko breathed out a heavy sigh, causing me to look up with a start and my hand to jerk to the left slightly.

Kioko's face clearly showed her frustration as she stood up to leave and I opened my mouth to apologize for how boring this was. Then she stepped around the table and plopped down next to me. "You're going about this wrong, Kado-kun. Focus on making a pivot point and rotating the paper around that."

She picked up a spare piece of paper and pencil and placed her hand down on it, holding the pencil in an odd grip. "You have to use your finger as a focus and then just turn the paper." She demonstrated, and in two seconds was holding up the paper with a triumphant look on her face, a nearly perfect circle inscribed onto it.

"There, how about that!" She pronounced smugly, sounding as if she had just solved world hunger. "Oh, and you can stop gaping now," she added. "It's a little creepy."

I closed my mouth with a click of teeth impacting teeth, but it was another few seconds before I could drag my attention away from that near-perfect circle and up to Kioko's face. "You, my dear," I pronounced with the ardor of a man saved from the gallows, "are a goddess."

Leaning in to give her a quick peck on the lips, I tore away and whirled around to the table, grabbing another piece of paper before settling in to the task with newfound knowledge, putting all my focus into replicating Kioko's earlier feat.

After only four tries, I was able to get something that, while it wasn't as flawless as Kioko's attempt, was leagues better than anything I had done previously, and might even cut Akeno's harsh standards.

Turning a beaming smile to Kioko, I said "I could kiss you right now."

My girlfriend cocked an eyebrow, but there was still a faint blush on her cheeks. "You already did, idiot."

Well, I couldn't let her get away with that, now could I. So I kissed her again, holding it for a second before pulling away, slightly flushed myself. Since when was I so bold to do something like that? I changed the subject hurriedly, hoping Kioko wouldn't make a big deal out of it. "So… erm, do you have any other tips I could use?"

The blonde angel before me blinked twice, clearing her slightly hazy eyes. "Y-Yeah, I've got a few. I've been doing this for a while now, you know. You really should ask me about these kinds of things if you're having trouble."

Smiling sheepishly, I scooted over so she had more room and listened carefully as she started to explain the best kind of paper to use for magic circles.

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

After demonstrating my near-perfect circles to Akeno —who insisted that I was cheating, even after I demonstrated Kioko's technique to her— I was finally allowed to sit in on the actual magic lessons, as opposed to sitting in a corner practicing more circles.

I was pretty sure I hated circles by now. I may never be able to eat a donut again.

The lessons were held in the mansion's plush-carpeted parlor, as Rias called it, with each person finding a seat on the multitude of soft leather couches or armchairs gathered into a loose circle, with whoever was teaching for the night making a demonstration in the center.

Akeno and Rias tended to alternate teaching, Akeno going over how to cast spells while Rias would explain the theory. Tonight was Rias' turn and she was busy explaining where magic originated from, tapping into a plane that held humans' dreams and desires, something that was often called the collective unconscious.

I was seated at the corner of one of the gloriously soft couches, Kioko nestled into my side like a baby chick with it's mother. She had been oddly affectionate since earlier that day and I wasn't quite sure how to deal with it. For now I just accepted it and stroked her hair from time to time, hoping that my ribs and shoulder weren't too uncomfortable.

Issei was seated on the opposite end of the room, with a look of such concentration on his face that I could only guess meant that he was attempting to use that power of desires to allow himself to gain x-ray vision. Ah Issei… Never change, but please change already and if you _ever_ try that on Kioko I will murder you.

With the power of drawing circles. Fear me.

Yeah, as if. Issei, now that he'd manifested his true sacred gear probably had more power than me in his pinky finger. His left one specifically. What chance did I have of ever catching up to someone who was literally blessed by the gods? Singular, but I don't want to get a headache and cheap cop-outs are cheap.

"Kai-san!" Rias snapped out, giving an annoyed glare in my direction. I jerked my head around to face her, realizing that I had lost focus of the lecture, and Rias was sure to have picked up on it. "I am glad that Horikawa-san could join us," you say that, Rias, but your face and tone say something completely different… "but I will ask her to leave if she is being a distraction to you."

I honestly wasn't sure if that was Rias' peerage jealousy acting up, her devil instincts telling her that Kioko was going to steal me away, or if she was just that serious about teaching. She seemed like the type to get all serious about it, and I guess I had been underestimating that.

Straightening up, I gently pushed Kioko away just enough to let my side breath. "She wasn't distracting me, Rias." It was true, I'd been distracted by Issei and my own shortcomings. Don't blame her for something that wasn't her fault, Rias.

The King raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Indeed? Then you won't mind me asking what the three basic laws of magic are?" Is that what she had been talking about? I really must have been out of it to miss something like that.

Unluckily for Rias, that was something that Kioko had talked about just earlier that day. And with a name as cool as "Three laws of magic," there's no way I wouldn't remember them.

I answered, carefully keeping any hint of smugness from my tone. "Something cannot come from Nothing. And the second half of it, Nothing is Something." I raised one finger to keep count. "Everything is part of Everything else, all is Connected." A second finger joined the first. "And We are in the Everything, and in the Something, and in the Nothing. And It is in us."

My hand lowered and I gave Rias a false smile, enjoying her shocked expression. The three laws of magic sounded more mystical than they actually were, due to being coined by some magician thousands of years before with a wildly overblown sense of dramatics.

They actually interpreted to "Conservation of energy but with mana involved," "All is One, One is All," and "Magic works on us too." As Kioko explained it, nobody really uses the three laws anymore, instead learning how to use magic with their natural talent or bloodline instead of understanding the theory behind what was happening.

Rias finally closed her mouth and gave me an intrigued expression. "That was… very interesting, Kai-san." Her next comment killed any sense of satisfaction I had. "But now I _know_ you weren't listening." She turned away from me with a sigh and addressed the whole room. "What you just heard Kai-san say were the three laws of magic, as known to the world _two and a half centuries ago_."

I shot Kioko a betrayed look that she steadfastly ignored, instead appearing to be transfixed by Rias' lecture. "They were disproved by Mephisto Pheles, the current leader of the Grauzauberer almost a century ago," Rias explained, placing one hand on her hip and raising the other in front of herself. "Mephisto Pheles proved the existence of both interphysical forces and intraphysical forces as they pertain to magic and the realm of souls, definitively debunking Merlin's theories of magic that had held precedence until that point."

My head was spinning trying to figure out what Rias was talking about, and judging by the looks on many of the others faces, they were in the same boat as me. Noticing this, the red-haired devil dropped her teaching pose with a sigh. "That's enough about that for today though. It will suffice to say that those laws are outdated, and more of scholarly merit than much else."

Turning back to me, Rias continued her earlier discussion with me. "Try to remember them this time. The first law is that demonic magic works outside the laws of the universe, while human magic works within the laws. The second law is that that demonic magic is symbolic, while human magic is literal. The third law is one that's universal for all the races." Her voice grew slightly somber and her gaze was fixed at a point just above my head. "Souls are composed of magic, and are so unalterable by magic."

After a moment, Rias blinked and turned away from me, returning to her lesson without another word to me. I cost a curious look at Kioko, who only shrugged slightly and moved closer to me again. Rias was acting strangely. Something about that third law had set her off, distracted her somehow.

I faced Rias again, not wanting to be called out for not paying attention again. There was something buried beneath Rias' outward expression, but now wasn't the time, I'd just have to wait and find out more later.

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

Later that night, while relaxing in the hot springs that were a part of the mansion, I was surprised by Issei plopping down next to me, sending a wave of displaced water in every direction. I cocked an eyebrow at the pervert. "Aren't you usually trying to peek on the female side of the bath by now?"

It had become somewhat of a tradition in the nights so far, and the only reason I hadn't tried to stop him is because I knew for a fact that Koneko got some kind of perverse joy from knocking him off the high wooden wall each time he tried to climb it.

Issei made a disgruntled face and shook his fist before him, presumably at the universe for his misfortune. "Koneko rigged the top with electric wire. Said she wants to relax this time."

"That hasn't stopped you before."

The brown-haired boy sunk lower in the water at my disbelieving look. "Yeah, okay. I wanted to talk to you, actually."

I shrugged, shifting slightly in the water. I was almost used to it by now, Issei coming up and asking me for advice at odd times. I didn't quite get why he didn't ask these things to Kiba, who was just on the other side of the hot spring though. Maybe I was closer to him or something. "Alright, what did you want to ask?"

There was a pause before Issei said anything, hesitating for some reason. "…I need to be stronger. I can't do magic, and I'm just not strong enough to put up a fight against how strong that fried chicken jerk is. I… I don't want her to get taken away from me."

All I could do was stare at him for a moment, taking in his sincere expression, soaked hair, and determined eyes. Then I threw my head back and laughed hard enough that I was out of breath in a few seconds.

Looking back at Issei's confused expression, I asked him "You do realize that you are asking that to the weakest member of the peerage, right? A professional boxer can kill a person with a punch. You can _double_ that in ten seconds. Make it thirty seconds and you could probably punch through a house."

Issei shuffled uncomfortably. "But I can't hurt that jerk, he'd just heal right afterwards. And you're good at thinking, so I figured maybe you could help."

I considered for a moment, weighing the effort and the benefit, but there really wasn't any harm in giving a little advice. "Alright then, just give me a second." Closing my eyes, I tried to think of what Issei could do. The pawn's problem was that he couldn't hurt Riser. Which was ridiculous. If there was anything that books had taught me, it was that everything has a weakness. Physical or emotional.

Would kidnapping a member of his peerage do it? He hadn't seemed to care about the girls much in the short time that I had seen them, but that could have been an act, hiding a possible weakness or trying to look strong in front of enemies. So it might work, but would it be worth gaining the ire of the Phenex family along with most of the underworld?

No, best to set that aside in case of emergency. I didn't think that Issei would be able to actually kidnap someone, anyway. Might be a possibility if we lost the rating game though. Just one of a hundred possibilities.

Back to Issei's problem though. If we took for granted that Riser was immortal, than suddenly it was all about how long we could last. And that was a skill that Issei lacked right now. "Hey Issei," I said, opening my eyes.

The brown-haired boy's face quickly turned to my own with a fake look of interest on his face as he hid whatever he had been messing with beneath the water. "Yes?"

…Whatever. "So I know that you can punch hard enough to break a building or whatever, but does that help your defense?"

"My defense?"

I shrugged, shifting to find a slightly more comfortable position in the water. "Well if you get hit, won't it be better if you can take it and keep fighting? If you can't hurt Riser, maybe you can at least outlast him? Maybe even protect Rias with it?"

Issei opened his mouth, a slightly confused look on his face, but I continued with a deadpan expression on my face. "It won't hurt when the kendo club beats you up so you can go peep again without waiting."

The confusion immediately cleared up and Issei smacked a fist into his palm. "Right! That makes sense!"

Rolling my eyes, I grabbed my towel and stood up, quickly wrapping it around myself. "Glad to hear it. I'll be getting out though, I've probably soaked enough." Besides, I couldn't help but to want to practice magic a bit more. Now that I had drawing circles down, I could practice my magic punch guilt-free!

As I got dressed and wandered back through the halls of the spacious mansion, I couldn't help but wonder out loud "Something defensive, huh…" Right now I was about as tough as a basketball. Hard to puncture, but still absurdly easy in comparison to Koneko or Akeno's bowling ball.

Was there some way I could last longer in a fight? Defense or dodging somehow? I briefly imagined conjuring a magical shield shaped like a flower, but shook it off with a smile. No way I could do anything like that, not when I was just barely starting to learn magic.

My train of thought halted as I got a glimpse of bright red hair in the parlor, illuminated by a single lamp shining down from one wall. Backtracking slightly, I peeked in the door of the room.

Rias was sitting in the middle of the room, red hair still wet from the bath, the lamp-light making it almost look purple in a stark contrast to her usual fiery appearance. Papers were spread out on the table in front of her. But what was she doing here alone? Usually the girls were in the bath for longer, "beauty bathing," as Akeno called it.

Sneaking forward, I slowly leaned over to see the documents. The one on the top read "Rating Game Between Riser Phenex and Lirei Farfarello." Looking at another paper slightly farther away, the title was the exact same, only with the competitor's name changed.

Humming slightly, I held back a smile as Rias jerked slightly, her elbow slipping on the paper and dropping her head a few inches. "Kai-san! What are you doing here?" One elbow instinctively covered the bottom part of the paper she was looking at before she grimaced at the mess and used both hands to gather stray papers, sorting them into one larger stack.

I got down next to the table as well and started helping, handing her files as she needed them and stacking a few together. "Not much, just saw you working in here and got curious." I cocked an eyebrow at the flustered girl. "I do have to ask though. Why are these written in Japanese? Don't you have a demon language or something?"

Rias stared at me for a second before she laughed, sounding slightly relieved. "Is that what you wanted to know? Something that simple?"

"Well yeah. Why, got any other secrets in there I should know about?" I asked jokingly.

Rias finished gathering the papers into a stack and gave me a wry smile. "It's not like it's a secret in the first place. I asked for them in Japanese just in case you or the other members of the peerage needed to read them."

Sitting back, I slapped my forehead. "Of course, I don't know why I didn't think of that. Talk about the easiest explanation." I chuckled slightly, but conversation trailed off after that, and we were left sitting in a companionable silence.

The quiet was broken before too long by Rias speaking up. "I actually meant to talk to you, Kai-san."

I cocked my head, turning it to look the girl in the eye. "Yeah? What about?"

Rias looked back down at the table, carefully lining up the corners of the paper stack with an intent expression on her face. "I told the rest of the peerage earlier, just to make sure that they were aware, but that was the time when you were getting ready to leave for the training trip so you missed it."

"I was gone for five minutes!"

The king shrugged, unrepentant. "It was a short talk. Anyway, I noticed when we were fighting the stray devil that you were… very resistant to allowing her to be hurt."

I kept my face carefully blank as Rias spoke. I'd been wondering the same thing myself. I was willing to hurt someone to keep someone else safe, I'd done it before. But I wouldn't let anybody die, and in a battle with super strength and magic flying around, death was a big possibility.

"So I'm telling you not to worry," Rias said, carefully grabbing my face with both hands and bringing it around to face her own caring eyes. "The rating game is held inside an alternate dimension, and whatever happens is reversed once a person leaves it by being retired. Every injury, every death is like it never happened."

My lungs stopped breathing for an instant before I took a deep breath of relief, feeling a weight lift off my shoulders. I smiled at Rias, something shaky that quickly firmed up. "Thanks Rias, that really helps to know. Don't worry, I won't take it easy on them when your fate is on the line."

The red-haired devil smiled, something soft that I thought would fit better on my mom than on a teenage girl my age. "I know. Don't worry about it, just do your best." She released me and shooed me off with one hand. "You'd better head off to bed now. It'll be more training tomorrow."

Getting to my feet, I shot Rias an unsure look. "Are you sure you'll be alright here by yourself though?" It seemed wrong to just leave her alone in the dim light.

But the king waved it off. "I'll be fine for a short while, and Akeno will be out soon. I'll just rest my eyes for a short while until then."

Accepting her explanation, I gave Rias a final wave before leaving the room, glancing back to see Rias, already with her head lying on her folded arms. She certainly didn't take long, did she. ( _Look_ _…_ )

Closing the door softly, I held back a yawn as I proceeded down the hall. Something about the conversation was nagging at me. Maybe something about how careful Rias was to not let me see the papers she was looking at. Or maybe it was the guilt dancing behind the caring in her eyes. But it all seemed to run together and become a blurry mess when I looked back on it. ( _…think_ )

Forced to put a hand on the wall to support myself as my vision grew wobbly, I put a hand on my forehead and felt the hot skin there. I must really be more sleepy than I thought. I'd probably better get to sleep before I come down with something. ( _…see_ )

Maybe I'd remember what was wrong in the morning. ( _Wake up!_ ) I went to sleep and dreamed of red and a hole.

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

"I will admit to having a certain fondness for the good old days. Well not that far back. Mostly the middling days. Kicking back, reading manga and books in my free time, and spending time with Kioko.

"Yes indeed. No supernatural shenanigans, no insane training, and no dying? Those were probably the best years of my life. Some days I look up at the sun shining above me and wonder if I can ever return to those times…"

"You can monologue when you're dead! Keep working and focus on the fight!"

A thin whip constructed of water sliced over my head, clipping a few hairs as I frantically ducked before rolling to the side, barely dodging a spike of rock emerging from the ground beneath me.

Ending in a crouch due to a devil's sense of balance, my eyes flicked from place to place, trying to locate Akeno behind any of the trees surrounding me as I breathed heavily to refill my lungs in the short respite I had.

Hearing a whistling sound, I jerked my head to the right, avoiding a razor-sharp projectile just in time and hearing it bury itself in the ground a few feet in front of me. Guess they weren't kidding when they talked about a devil's instincts. I could practically feel each time something was shot at me with how tense I was right now, blood pumping in my ears and my heart shuddering with every breath.

Seconds passing agonizingly slowly, I held my breath as I slowly stood up again, hesitant for any sign of attack. The forest was still, no sign of movement whatsoever, even the air itself was sitting heavy on the small clearing where I was training.

"Checkmate."

Hearing the voice form directly behind me, I didn't hesitate and dove into a roll, spinning around once I had landed to see Akeno standing where I had been a second ago, a peaceful smile on her face. And one hand raised in the motion of snapping her fingers.

Well drat.

The sharp clicking sound rang throughout the clearing and a purple magic circle materialized beneath me for for a fraction of a second before activating, pouring enough electricity through me to light up my bones.

By the time the effect had faded, on was on my face, breathing heavily and wishing that Akeno would _really stop doing that_ because it was probably bad for my heart and I wouldn't even make it to the rating game at this point.

I heard a crunching sound and black stockings filled my vision as Akeno crouched in front of me. "You really aren't very good at this, Kado-kun." The girl clinically observed. "You'd die in a second if I was really attacking you."

I'm perfectly aware of that, thanks. It's kinda the reason I'm training in the first place. "Thanks, Akeno," I gurgled, forgetting to use her last name in my dazed state. "Really what I needed to hear."

Akeno sighed, something that was somehow both sorrowful and teasing. "You know, it would be easier if you used magic. You really shouldn't hold back on my account~"

That did it. Planting my palms into the grass and leaves of the forest floor, I pushed my upper body into an upright position, shooting Akeno an incredulous look. "What magic! All you taught me was to draw circles! And you didn't even do that very well!"

The devil sniffed haughtily and casually used her hand to bend my arm, sending me back to the ground ear first. "I taught you more than that, you ungrateful disciple. Although I clearly must have done an insufficient job if you are still this much of a failure afterwards."

"So you admit it?" My comment was rewarded with a shoe grinding my head into the dirt. Slapping away the offending limb, I finally sat up, rubbing my ear. "Yeah yeah, whatever. So then what is this other technique you taught me that I can't remember."

The black-haired sadist smiled mischievously, opening her arms in a theatrical gesture. "Did I not teach you how to access your demonic energy?"

"I figured it out myself and you took credit when I told you!" What was I thinking asking this girl for magic lessons? That she could be professional for half a second and had a modicum of skill at teaching. So again, what was I thinking?

Akeno shook her head sadly, still playing up the sorrowful teacher role. "Clearly, I have been inefficient in my teachings." She paused, pointing a finger in my direction. "So learn this lesson well, young one."

I rolled my eyes, but focused just in case my teacher was actually going to be helpful for once. "It is a lesson well learned that is learned by oneself." And with that cryptic and _completely useless_ statement, Akeno manifested her wings and propelled herself back into the trees with an a single long leap, soon vanishing from sight.

That? That right there? Yeah, that's how Akeno teaches. All my hatred, Akeno! All my hatred! Groaning out loud, I stumbled to my feet and pricked up my ears for any sounds that might give away her location, hoping to reach the same state of instincts I had gained before.

Two lightning strikes and a small fireball later, I decided the strategy clearly wasn't working. Taking what little time I had, I tried to think of what Akeno was trying to achieve. As possible as it was that she was just enjoying hurting me, I was hoping she had an actual reason for it.

The reason I was out here was for a "magic lesson," supposedly, although so far the only magic had been the various elemental attacks thrown at me. So was I supposed to use magic to fight back? It was certainly what Akeno had been hinting at before.

Dodging a bolt of lightning and feeling the hairs on my arm prick up at the close call, I tried to think of what magic I could use. The one skill I had been working on so far, enhancing the physical force, hadn't worked and just ended up badly burning my hand. And I got the same result whenever I tried to use magic outside my body.

Was that the problem then? That I was trying to use it outside of my body? Slipping a metaphorical hand beneath the surface of my skin and soul, I pulled the the electric through the hard shell that was my soul, before leading it back up and into my body. Well I had it now, but what could I do with it?

I winced as a sliver of stone from a particularly nefarious shrapnel bomb dug it's way into my leg. Jerking out of my loose control, the demonic energy slipped away from my guidance and darted towards the wound, searching for… something.

Managing to divert it around the small cut, I created a small bubble of space around the inside of my leg, not allowing the magic to bypass it, unsure of what it would try to do to the wound.

But then a doubt trickled into my head. It couldn't be that bad, right? It was my magic after all, so it might even heal the wound. Besides, I had to learn about this power one way or another.

So relaxing the firm shield I had created around the wound, I let the magic in, feeling the tingling intensify as it found the wound before… vanishing. The demonic energy was slowly leaking out.

Opening my eyes, barely realizing they were closed, I looked down at my leg, but saw nothing. I was still bleeding in a steady stream, but there was no blue energy, no crackling effect, nothing.

Then were was the magic going? The only way it could escape would be through the wound, but I couldn't find it. …Which meant that it must be in the blood! And if it could be absorbed into the blood on the outside of my body, it could be absorbed exactly the same by the blood on the inside!

I realized that Akeno hadn't shot anything at me for a while, either recognizing what I was trying to do or shocked at making me bleed. Definitely the former. Whatever, it would certainly be harder to do this while dodging whatever attacks her sadistic brain cooked up, so I was grateful for the chance.

Slowly pressing the electric energy into my bloodstream, the demonic energy took that as it's cue and began rushing through my body like an excited snake, flickering through my body bit by bit, until it felt like my whole body was practically glowing.

Although I could feel that the bowl that usually held my magic was nearly empty, barely holding back a few drops. This technique was far too energy intensive to use constantly, especially since I could already feel the magic in my veins slowly fading, the metaphorical light dimming.

Something seemed to ping somewhere in my brain and for what was probably the first time in my life, I moved without thinking. Muscles in my foot I didn't know existed tensed, spinning my around before my other foot planting itself in the ground, immediately halting my motion.

My eyes caught sight of something flying towards me, a thin sliver of ice in the shape of a knife. Flimsy but probably razor sharp. And it was aimed right for my head. It wasn't traveling any slower than the other projectiles, but this time, I could _see it_.

Analyzing it's spin and speed with instinctive math skills I _knew_ I didn't have, my hand snapped up and caught the ice dagger between the fingers of my thumb and my other four fingers. Then with a small exertion of force, broke the projectile, throwing splinters of it in all directions, too small to really hurt me.

And the whole thing happened in less than a second.

Now, enhanced by whatever magic voodoo this was, I could make out Akeno leaning out from behind a tree, and could even hear her murmured "I can't believe that worked." If you weren't sure, don't try it on me!

Sinking back into a more normal sense of being as my senses ratcheted down a level or six, I swayed for a moment at the loss of strength in my limbs. Reaching back inside me, I found the magic dying down from the glow of a supernova into what was closer to a fluorescent light.

Finding myself wobbling slightly, I held out a hand to steady myself. "That… that was crazy." Was that _always_ what using magic was like? Man, a guy could get addicted to the feeling fast.

That was when the crippling pain started.

My legs seized up, every muscle suddenly razor wire slicing me apart and I toppled over sideways, screaming. My chest was next, a burning sensation that made me want to tear apart my chest to pluck out the ball of fire that was burning me alive. From there I could feel my neck seizing up, muscle by muscle, before the flames reached the top of my neck, where the spine meets the brain.

The world lit up white, leaves beneath me nails piercing my skin, the wind in the treetops a siren in my ears, and everything so _bright_ I couldn't think. All my senses pushed to the maximum, overloading me until I passed out, my mind fleeing from the agony that was my body.

My last thought was that I wouldn't be able to apologize to Kioko for breaking my promise again.

* * *

End AN: I get it, my magic sucks. I did make up the three laws of magic, both sets, although you can probably notice a few ideas I got from other media.

The training isn't professional since Rias hasn't ever really trained before in her life, and is too prideful to ask her family or someone else for help. If she recruited Sairaorg for a week, the group would probably be better trained than otherwise, but Rias wouldn't want to look weak in front of someone she admires.

Akeno's way of teaching is much the same, not being professional at all. Akeno feels both confident in her skills and nervous in her ability, so she's trying to compensate by using how she was taught as a child and what she picked up while on the streets. She knows dodging is helpful, so she's trying to help with that. Part of the reason that she's not teaching Kado more magic is that she's currently the only real magic user in the peerage. If Kado picks up magic too fast or something that she can't do, then suddenly Akeno isn't as useful and that's something she wants to avoid as much as possible.

And yes, Kiba has a personality in the fic, because canon Kiba doesn't really get interesting until the Excalibur arc, and I wanted to show that in this universe that I created and affects absolutely nothing, he's a bit more than revenge and other repressed issues.

And just a small reminder that not everything is AU.

Last note, I found out how to draw a near-perfect circle on my own after a few minutes of experimentation. It actually works surprisingly well and I'd recommend it to anyone who needs to draw a really nice-looking circle without a compass or crazy hand-eye coordination.

Next chapter wraps up the training camp and a few other things. Hope to see you all then!


	14. In Which Mistakes are Fixed

AN: Do you remember when I said this chapter might be shorter?

AHAHAHAHAHA

But! I got it done and ended up adding in a few things that I didn't even have planned until they popped up, so that's great. Also the next week is basically going to be rewriting the upcoming chapter to add in everything that I added or changed since I wrote it over a month ago. So that's going to be _lovely_.

This was originally going to be filler chapter trying to get through the training camp and make sure all the necessary foreshadowing was in place for the rating game, but it ended up having so much foreshadowing that I can't just call it a filler anymore. I also cried while writing this chapter for reasons I will not share because SPOILERS.

Can't think of any warnings this time except for the length since it got out of hand and I didn't want to make you guys go through another training camp chapter. Honestly though, if I keep going at this rate, I'll be writing 20k chapters a week, which sounds like a nightmare for both you guys and me.

Disclaimer: Honestly the world of Highschool DxD is incredible, minus the perverted parts, and I would be remiss if I didn't credit the author of the work, Ichiei Ishibumi.

* * *

I _was back._

 _The world was red, ribbons intertwining like all the colors of the world twisted together, all the same and all so different._

 _It felt like home._

 _And it was being destroyed. The hole was back, or more correctly, it had never left. Instead it had grown larger, bulges that looked like veins running in every direction from the depression._

 _The hole had stabilized, still pulsing but more_ _… permanent. It grasped at the walls around it, striving to pull itself out, to expand. Or perhaps trying to pull everything else into it's gaping maw. And in the very center, like the center of a ring, I could catch a glimpse of what wasn't. The Nothing that was All._

 _I feared it, I desired it, and I missed it._

 _It was home and it was destruction and it was me._

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

I woke up feeling wrong, out of place. My entire body felt numb, contrasting the pain that had plagued it shortly before. The world seemed muted, colors were darker and duller, sounds were faint and faded. But more than that, it didn't feel like I belonged. This mortal world, the land of death and life, it wasn't where I should be.

So why was I here? Why not retreat, slink back into the place of shadow and dusk where Everything was Nothing and Eternity quailed before the All that was One. Memories and places I should know seemed so far away and faces I knew seemed plastic and fake. What was there to lose? And there was Nothing to gain.

"Kado?" A face appeared above my own, blonde hair framing worried a shapely round face and worried green eyes. She was one of the ones of Dark and Light, a denizen of the place that was. I didn't try to remember her name or who she was, just stared through her, as if by ignoring her she would disappear. She was, and I was not. And that was all that mattered.

A hand appeared and softly caressed my forehead, cool fingers tingling as they brushed my scalp and I almost recoiled from the thing that was real, but that would be acknowledging it, recognizing that it was real, and so was I.

"Kado-kun, please," the voice said. No, begged.

I took a deep breath for the first time in minutes and the dusk washed away, the lingering traces whispering promises that were threats and threats that were promises. I blinked, and the world came into focus, Kioko looked down at me with anguish in her eyes and it felt like the sorrows of the world crashing down upon me.

Then I moved, a twitch of a finger. And the world enveloped me, all the colors, sounds, and sights that seemed so far away engulfing me and sweeping me into an embrace. I could hear birds chirping somewhere far away, something metal falling somewhere in the kitchen downstairs, and could finally feel that I was laying on a soft bed that caved in beneath my weight, a seam from a blanket beneath me poking into my back uncomfortably.

I breathed, blinked, and moved. And I was back in my own body, constrained by the beautiful limitations of flesh and bone. Stretching, I propped an elbow beneath me and pushed myself up into a slightly more upright position, giving Kioko a tired smile.

"Hey beautiful, you miss me?"

A sharp sting of pain radiated out from my cheek and I blinked, accepting the pain from Kioko's slap. I winced, more at the battling emotions I could see in those green eyes than from the actual pain. "I deserved that, didn't I."

Then she was on top of me, the increased weight forcing me onto my back. Kioko pressed her face into my neck, running her fingers through my messy hair and probably finding a few twigs and leaves in there by the feeling of it. I could feel her take each shuddering breath with how closely her body was pressed against mine, and this time I didn't hesitate to wrap my arms around her and softly whisper apologies into her ear.

Too many missed opportunities, too many times I had been afraid to reach out and touch her, comfort her. But right now wouldn't be one of them. Back in the clearing, with fire in my veins and glass in my heart, I honestly thought I was going to die. And I decided I never wanted that to happen if it meant I would leave Kioko alone again.

I didn't know about Kioko's home situation, and I'd never pressed her for any information. But she had let slip once that she lived alone, and she never talked about her parents. Maybe it was the sudden wisdom that came from having a near-death experience, but a lot of things suddenly seemed to click inside my mind.

Kioko based almost all of herself on me. She was always there when I needed her, and had been beside me when I woke up. If I died, she would have nothing left, would she. A ship adrift, with nothing left to keep her from following close upon my heels.

I'd always kept a certain distance from my family, and I believe that if I died, they would find a way to carry on, taking comfort in each other or in their friends. But Kioko had nothing but me. She was a broken human being, clinging onto me as the only thing to keep her together.

And when had Kai Kado ever abandoned someone who needed to be saved.

So I held her as she cried, feeling tears prickle at the corner of my own eyes at the sound of her sobs.

When the soft cries finally died down, Kioko slowly pulled her hands down from my hair and onto my chest, pushing herself up into a sitting position, straddling me and looking into my eyes. "I don't know what you did, Kado-kun. But you have to promise me to never do it again."

Without flinching, I looked back into her red-rimmed eyes. "I'm sorry, Kioko-chan. I can't do that."

Kioko breathed in sharply, breath hissing between her teeth. "But you… you saw what it does to you! You were breaking apart from the inside, your body tearing itself to pieces! You can't do something like that!" She was angry, but pleading.

But this wasn't something I could allow myself to budge on. "I'm sorry, Kioko-chan. But I need this. This is the only way I can fight back, the only way I can help Rias."

Before my girlfriend could voice her protests, I reached up and softly cupped her cheek, using my thumb to smooth the skin below her eye that was red from crying, brushing crusted tears. "But," I spoke as gently as I could, focusing on the minute movements of my thumb, "I will learn to control it. I will learn to use it safely so that I never have to worry you again."

Kioko bit her bottom lip, but slowly nodded. "Alright," she spoke, barely a whisper. "Alright, I believe you." She lowered herself back down onto me with careful movements, whispering into my ear "But you'll always worry me. I can live with worry, but please never make me feel despair."

I wouldn't. I had broken promises before. Hundreds of oaths broken and shattered behind me, far too many to Kioko herself. "I promise," I told her, wrapping my arms around her again. Maybe it was time I started promising myself, too.

Holding onto Kioko, I began to feel myself drifting away, falling back into sleep. I yawned and suddenly realized how tired I still was. "Hey, Kioko-chan," I murmured sleepily, tightening my arms around her back. "Sorry, I think I'm going to…"

Kioko smiled and nuzzled into my shoulder slightly. "Don't worry about it, Kado-kun. Just promise you'll wake up this time."

And the fact that she still trusted me to keep my promises after all the ones I had broken hit me with a wave of relief so strong I immediately dropped off to sleep, a peaceful smile on my face.

I dreamed of home.

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

Yawning, I slowly opened my eyes, stretching my arms wide before absent-mindedly rubbing my forehead as I yawned again. It felt like I had simply dozed off for a moment and was coming back to my senses, rather than having taken a nap. Sitting up, I rubbed one eye and used the other to find the clock I had set up on my bedside table when I first moved in.

It wasn't there. Confused, I looked around, slowly sliding off the luxurious canopy bed in the center of my room. Things seemed to have been cleaned up, the various papers and pencils I had been practicing with the day before having been tidied up, with no sign that they had ever existed. The bedside table was bare except for a lamp, which had come with the room. It looked more like a hotel room than where someone was actually living.

I suppose that Kioko must have cleaned the room while I was asleep. Unless the ninja-maid was an actual maid and did some stealth-cleaning while I was asleep.

Gazing down at the clothes I was wearing, I wrinkled my nose. They were the same clothes I had been wearing since that morning, and after training and rolling around in the dirt earlier I could really use a shower and a change of clothes.

Walking over to the large wardrobe next to one wall where I'd stored away the clothes forced onto me before being dragged to the training camp, I swung open the wooden doors prepared to see a school uniform or one of the standard-made sets of guest clothing.

What I wasn't prepared to see was a dozen dresses hanging from the ceiling along with a stack of carefully folded shirts and pants in a distinctly feminine style placed on the floor.

I stared for a few seconds, trying to wrap my head around why there was womens clothing inside my wardrobe. I heard the click of a doorknob sliding into place in the doorframe.

Frantically slamming the wardrobe closed, I spun around to see a faintly blushing Kioko holding a tray with steam rising from it in her hands. I'd been so… distracted that I hadn't even heard her come in.

Licking my lips, I held up a single finger. "I… take it this is your room?"

Kioko nodded, moving over to set the tray of food down on the table as her cheeks returned to a more normal shade. "When I brought you back from the forest, I panicked and brought you here first, instead of into your own room. Sorry about that, you probably would have been more comfortable in your own bed."

I waved off the apology, still overly conscious of the wardrobe directly behind me. "No no, it's fine. It didn't matter much which room it was while I was asleep." The scent of miso and fish assaulted my nose and I started forward to the table in the center of the room, rubbing my hands eagerly. "So is that food I smell? And is it for me?"

Kioko rolled her eyes but set began to set out small bowls of rice and vegetables, along with two sets of chopsticks. "I thought I'd bring you breakfast in bed, but it seems to be a little late for that," she said, eying my non-sleeping form.

Suddenly remembering that the clothes I was wearing were covered in dirt and sweat, I hesitated. "Wait, shouldn't I clean up first? I'm still pretty messy from earlier."

Pausing, Kioko ran a critical eye up and down my body, humming. "Nope." She broke off her scan, making eye contact. "You're hungry, and I can deal with a little untidiness if it means getting to eat breakfast with my boyfriend."

Girls were either famous or infamous for being picky about personal cleanliness, depending on who you asked, and I was touched that Kioko was letting that fall to the wayside and being considerate of my hunger. As if summoned, my stomach rumbled. It wasn't loud, but it was enough to remind me that I hadn't eaten in what was probably hours.

After I sat down we both said gratitude for the meal and began to eat. I stopped just before placing the first bite of rice and fish into my mouth. "Wait, did you say breakfast?"

Kioko nodded, swallowing her first bite before responding in full. "When you woke up last time it was almost midnight, so you were really just finishing your night of sleep."

I winced at that, realizing that I had basically laid around the day before instead of training. Sure Rias had banned me from training for a day, but at least I had been working on magic during that time. "Mmm, I'll have to apologize to the peerage later," I mumbled, finally placing the morsel of food in my mouth.

Ah, there's nothing like a traditional Japanese breakfast to start out the day. Or really any meal. I can honestly say I wouldn't be able to live without food.

…Yeah, I'd better keep that one to myself and never speak of it out loud. I would probably be laughed out of whatever room I was in, and not because of how funny the joke was.

"Akeno's not teaching you anymore."

Startled, my head jerked up at the sudden blunt statement, delivered in a cold tone. "What? Why all of a sudden?" What had happened out in the forest wasn't her fault, she was just trying to help me and I overdid it. That was all there was to it.

Kioko put a bite of food into her mouth, chewing almost mechanically before speaking. "She said it was because she hadn't been able to help you very much, and it was her fault that you were so badly injured."

Furrowing my brow I leaned to the side, just about to find Akeno and reassure her that it was my fault, and she had nothing to do with the accident, but a soft hand lightly grabbing my arm caught my attention.

Somehow in the short period of time, Kioko had scooted around the table so she was next to me, and was looking up at me seriously. "I know what you're about to do, and if you want to forgive her, that's fine. But first, please consider that this might not be a bad thing."

"B-But it wasn't her fault-"

Kioko put a hand over my mouth, muffling my protests. "She told me how she was training you. She was literally attacking you with magic and taunting you to use some kind of magic spell to stop her. While she hadn't taught you any kind of magic." She removed her hand and gave me an expectant look.

Well yes, that was what had been happening, but it sounds a lot more negative that way. I stayed quiet, not sure what to say to defend my teacher but reluctant to just admit the accusations

Giving me a knowing look, Kioko carried on with her miniature inquisition. "And from what you've told me after your training practices with her in the past, that's basically her strategy for training you physically as well."

Ah, I did have a comeback for that one! "But isn't that the best way to learn?" I asked rhetorically. "Actually performing the action you're trying to learn?"

"Did she ever actually teach you how to fight, or was she just expecting you to pick it up by example." Kioko's statement made my next words choke in my throat. Akeno really hadn't, although she tended to be hard on me when I failed at doing something. The more Kioko spoke, the more doubts I was having about Akeno's tutoring.

Kioko looked into my face and sighed, backing away slightly and looking down at the food. "I won't say anything more about it. But just think, it's like Akeno forcing you to take a math quiz when she hadn't taught you the material." With that statement, Kioko sealed the final nail in the coffin, and she knew it, too.

We returned to eating our breakfast, in silence this time as I mulled over what I was going to do next. With all the facts laid out in front of me like that, it was looking like a better and better prospect to get another teacher, but I really didn't have many options.

I decided to voice the issue, although I wasn't sure if I was hoping that Kioko had an answer or whether it was an excuse to keep Akeno as the teacher, even with her… hands-on teaching style. "…If Akeno isn't teaching me magic anymore, then who will?"

Kioko carefully wiped her mouth with a napkin and placed down her chopsticks before speaking, taking the lull to think on her answer. "Firstly, you're assuming you need one. You would probably begin to figure some things out without any kind of guidance, and there's almost certainly something online if you looked hard enough."

Listening intently, I considered the given options. My first instinct was to reject that I could actually find legitimate instruction on magic on the internet, but there was a lot of stuff out there, and who's to say some of it might not be real? I'd have to sift the truth out of all the craziness though, so that would be a last ditch option.

"Second," Kioko went on, "I know that Rias is paying special attention to Issei right now, but you might be able to ask her for some pointers at least. And for hand-to-hand combat, that's Koneko's preferred form of fighting. I don't think that she has any particular style besides 'crush it into a pancake' but she might still be able to help you punch straight."

She pausing, shooting me a skeptical look. "Did Akeno ever teach you how to throw a basic punch?" I stayed silent again, but couldn't help thinking that punching wasn't that hard, right? Force plus mass equals pain? Looking smug, my girlfriend delivered her final option with a wearying look. "And finally, what about me?"

I looked blankly at Kioko for a moment before what she meant made finally clicked. She was the one who taught you about magic circles, you idiot! How do you forget that so easily!

Within seconds I was bowing my head in apology. "Sorry, sorry, so sorry! How did I miss something that was right in front of me!" I was perfectly aware of Kioko's ability to use magic, so why did it seem to slip from my mind at times like this?

The blonde-haired _mage_ sighed, muttering something about "really worth it" before clearing her throat and speaking louder. "It's fine, I actually like how you don't see me as a magician and just treat me as your girlfriend."

"Yes," I said, head still bowed in shame, "but there is a line between being considerate of the person and neglect, and it is a very thick one!"

I was still mentally beating myself up when Kioko made her offer. "Well, would allowing me to teach you be an acceptable apology?" My head shot up, and I looked intently at Kioko for a moment, considering the offer. It wasn't much of a choice, honestly. Compared to Akeno, Kioko would be more interested in my actual progress, and it would be nice not having to worry about dying while training.

"Deal," I said, reaching forward to shake hands. As Kioko's thin white hand slipped into my own larger roughened palm, I gripped tight, pumping the limbs up and down once. I didn't let go just yet though. "Are you sure you're going to be able to deal with this though," I asked in concern. "You were pretty shaken by how badly I hurt myself last time."

Kioko brought her other hand up to grip mine, squeezing it between her palms and looking me straight in the eyes. "That's why I want to be there. Even if I can't help you and you end up hurting yourself again, at least I'll know that I did all that I could. That I wasn't useless again."

Taking a deep breath I nodded, accepting her resolve. Smirking, I pumped my arm once more. "Welcome to the effort then, partner. Are you ready to help save a princess?"

Kioko returned my smirk in equal force, her green eyes glittering mischievously. "Just try me, hero."

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

Since it _was_ in the morning when we made the deal, I had barely finished breakfast when I was forced outside onto the large grass lawn in front of the mansion. It was sunny and warm today, same as the rest of the past week, so it was almost a joy to be outside and exercising.

What _did_ cause me to mentally thank any gods that dealt with weather was Kioko's change of outfit, reflecting how serious she was with her new responsibility. Her usual blue ribbon had been adjusted and was now tying her hair back in a ponytail instead of her usual hairstyle. She was also wearing a white t-shirt and a pair of track pants she had borrowed from Kiba. I tried not to think about why any of the female devils clothing wouldn't fit her.

The sun gleaming off skin and blonde hair was a lovely sight, and I'm sure I dove into the training with more energy than I ever had under Akeno's tutelage.

Kioko wasted no time, standing in front of me with hands on hips, back straight and affecting a manner more reminiscent of a drill sergeant than my usual sarcastic girlfriend. "Alright, recruit! You think you've got what it takes to use magic?"

"Sarge, yes Sarge!" Was my firm response, sharply saluting as I hid a smile behind an expression of seriousness.

"Well you're wrong!" She barked back, her sharp tone beginning to attract attention, other members of the peerage poking their heads out of the mansion's door. "You aren't ready to _touch_ magic until you can prove that you won't burn down half the mountain trying to light a fire!"

"Sarge, yes Sarge!"

Kioko advanced, the ponytail swaying behind her head. "So it's up to me to beat the necessary skills into you! If you're going to burn something down, burn down the _enemies_ mountain!"

Holding in a snicker, I barked out "Sarge, yes Sarge!" This was certainly more relaxed than most of my training with Akeno had been. Hopefully it would be more useful, too. I still had some doubts about Kioko's teaching skills, but she was the best alternative after Akeno with how preoccupied Rias was preparing for the rating game.

Speaking of the black-haired devil, I had tried to find her directly after breakfast to reassure her that me getting injured wasn't her fault, but I hadn't been able to find her, and I had the sneaking suspicion that she was avoiding me. The other peerage members were pretty tight-lipped about the matter as well, even Issei, who usually tended to say whatever he wanted. Akeno couldn't hide from me forever though, and I'd forgive her one way or another!

Relaxing the rigid stance she had been holding previously, Kioko positioned herself directly in front of me, standing straight but without tensed muscles, her hands in front of her like she was cupping an invisible ball in her hands. "First, stand like this and pull the magic from your core."

Following her instructions I mimicked her pose easily, slightly over-aware of how close Kioko was, her hands practically brushing my own. Closing my eyes to focus, I easily found the deep glow of the ember that was my soul. It felt like it was buried about in the center of my chest, but a few dimensions away, distant somehow.

But what I was after wasn't the soul itself, but the residue that it gave off. In books it seems like magic comes so easily, like drinking water or breathing, it just _comes_. Demonic energy was different. I locked onto my soul, lifetimes away, and twisted, forcing the metaphorical coal into a different shape, into it's proper place.

I could feel the click of something falling into place, and felt the same electric feeling come pouring out of my soul like waves crashing on the beach. They weren't big, nothing to what I was sure Akeno or Rias' magic would be like, but it was still exciting each time I used magic, the knowledge that _I had magic_. I'm sure Kioko would be rolling her eyes right now if she could read my thoughts.

There was something just slightly different this time though. Normally demonic energy, when I used it at least, seemed flawed. It was willful but hesitant, and tasted like sparks of flame, or at least that was the best I could describe it. I had mentioned the odd taste to Akeno and she told me that it was always like that, and called it a reminder of what we had lost. Whatever that meant.

But now something had changed. The magic was confident, but willing to follow my direction as I moved it down my arms and into my cupped hands. More than that, the taste had changed. It was a bonfire in the night that never extinguished, only growing stronger. It was fear and fury and flee and fight and it was _free_.

I suddenly, desperately, never wanted to let this go just as desperately as it wanted to be used.

Akeno had never taught me any spells. Neither had Kioko, although I was hoping that would change. But the blazing feeling demanded to be used, to help. To further a Dream. There was only one way I knew to use it and last time I had seriously hurt myself, but it was not to be denied.

So I decided to minimize the damage. I forced all of the demonic energy into my right hand, sinking it into the bloodstream and mingling with the life-giving liquid there. Moving my physical body after what felt like hours, I grabbed my right wrist with the left hand, as if to pin the magic in place, to keep it from escaping.

Just like the day before, I could feel the glow, lighting up like the brightness of a thousand stars inside my hand. Fingers twitched sporadically, fighting to bleed off the massive amounts of energy suddenly infused into the limb.

I bit back a wince as something that felt like a tendon snapped on the back of my hand before stitching itself back together with a thousand pinpricks of healing flesh. Eventually it stopped, the glow slowly dimming as the energy was used up, dissipating into the flesh of my hand.

Taking a deep shuddering breath I opened my eyes to see Kioko staring back with wide eyes. "What… what was that?" She asked, something almost like awe in her tone.

Then the expected pain arrived, and I squeezed my hand into a tight fist until the fingers had turned white, biting back the scream that had formed inside my chest. Smirking instead, I focused on Kioko who was looking at the hand and it's white knuckles in concern.

"Magic," I said plainly, enjoying how Kioko's eyebrows drew together as she huffed, lightly hitting me on the shoulder as she rolled her eyes.

"Come on then, magic-boy, let's go get that hand taken care of. It doesn't look too good, and I remember what happened to you when you tried that last time." Kioko said, already pushing me back towards the house and the eavesdropping occupants leaning out of doors and windows.

As we neared the front door to the mansion I unclenched my right hand, before squeezing it into a fist again. Ignoring the pain caused by the simple action, I smirked. Now this I could use.

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

Once my "wound" was taken care of, which meant soaked in a basin of cold water until it stopped feeling like I had punched a concrete block to death with it, I discovered that Kioko had forbidden me from doing any more magic practice for the day, going so far as to place Rias in the same room with me so she could stop me if she felt me start to use magic.

It was honestly a bit overkill for something that wasn't even a wound, just painful. And how could I ever improve my new skill if I didn't get to practice it? Instead I got to spend the next hour watching Rias try to improve her Power of Destruction and getting ruthlessly shushed each time I was about to speak, so as not to ruin her concentration while playing with the deadly ball of death.

Luckily for me, the room I had been exiled to was the parlor where we usually had magic lessons, and there were a few books lying around that had been abandoned at some point in the training trip. So I managed to kill time by reading a fantasy series that had to have been Kiba's.

As it neared eleven, Rias finally relaxed her fist-sized orb of murder-death, slowly allowing it to dissipate into particles that faded in the air. Taking a few steps, the red-haired devil practically collapsed into the couch, taking a minute to breath deeply before pulling out a handkerchief from her pocket, because Rias, to wipe away some lingering drops of sweat on her face and forehead.

Poking my head up over the top of my book, I gave her a sympathetic look. "Magic training really takes a lot out of you, huh." I didn't expect that it would be so hard on the body, being more of a mental-and-spiritual thing. Seems like it really tired her out, though.

Rias shot me a glare, sitting up to regain some of her posture. "I don't want to hear that from the person who can't use magic without breaking himself." Touche, Rias. Thinking for a moment, Rias slipped into her lecture mode. "Imagine an explosion, like a grenade igniting in front of you."

I did as asked, noting my page number and setting the book down, closing my eyes to play along. It was better than the boredom at least. "Okay, done." Albeit what I was picturing was probably closer to an explosion you'd find in a movie than in real life, with fire and lightning everywhere.

"Now imagine grabbing that explosion and forcing it into a small ball, like a marble. But the force still wants to be pushed outwards, so it's constantly fighting you."

Wincing, I got the picture. "Huh, no wonder it's so difficult-"

She wasn't done. " _Now_ imagine forcing more explosives into that marble without letting any of it get out, so the explosion gets even stronger, but by now if you let go it would kill you."

Okay, that sounded pretty bad. What was she doing practicing something so dangerous? Opening my eyes, I asked her directly. "Why do you need to do something like that? Isn't your power of obliteration thingy already enough to kill just about anything?"

Rias sighed, propping one upraised arm on the other, but looking subtly happy at being able to enlighten someone. "Currently, my Power of Destruction is about strong enough to completely erase stone, devil-skin, and bordering on damaging some of Akeno's magically reinforced materials."

Well that was sounding pretty terrifying to me, especially with how easy it seemed to be for Rias to use it. Why again was she trying to improve it? "And it won't leave a scratch on Riser Phenex," Rias finished.

That immediately killed any good mood I might have had. How tough was this guy? First Issei and now Rias were saying he was immortal. Luckily, Rias had the answers. "Are you aware of the identifying ability of phoenixes from mythology?"

That was easy enough. "Being made of fire and being born again after death," I promptly answered. Was that the problem here, that each time we killed Riser he would be reborn?

"Exactly," Rias said, nodding with a hint of pride in her voice. "And the devil house of Phenex is worse." Oh come on! Why couldn't she be engaged to an accountant or something! This would be so much easier if Devil Society didn't seem to be run by rule of the strong.

"How much worse?" I asked, not sure I wanted to know the answer but fully aware that I would need to anyway.

Rias stood up from the couch, apparently having cooled down enough to be walking around, and starting pacing back and forth in front of the object of furniture while explaining. "The Phenex bloodline has three parts. Dominion over fire, influence over air, and Rebirth.

"The first two are magical affinities, but are so strong that Phenex are known for their command over fire, able to summon a firestorm with a gesture." The red-head was getting agitated as she spoke, her pace slowly increasing. "Their affinity for air is lesser, but when used to amplify their flames, becomes completely terrifying."

Rias was clearly worked up, not even speaking to me at this point, but to herself more than anything, gazing at the ceiling from time to time. "And their last ability, Rebirth. Unlike the mythical creature, they do not regenerate when they die. Instead, once a Phenex is harmed they heal almost immediately. Riser's mastery of this is great enough that he would survive so long as a pound of his flesh remained."

"Rias," I said, hoping to grab her attention. She either ignored me or didn't hear, instead devolving into muttering and staring blankly down as she paced back and forth, hands rubbing up and down her upper arms as if she was cold. "Rias," I called louder, but again got no response. Severely concerned now, I stood up from the couch, taking a step forward and grabbing Rias' arm as she passed by.

As my fingers wrapped around the cloth of Rias' uniform, her arm snaked backwards in a flash and latched onto my own arm, tugging sharply down and forcing my torso to follow. As my vision suddenly jerked around, I unconsciously blinked to clear my eyes and opened them to see a swirling orb of deepest black a few centimeters in front of my nose, tiny flecks of red swirling in the darkness.

It was so sudden that I didn't dare scream, not wanting to scare Rias further and get my face erased from existence. "Rias," I said in a calm tone of voice, slowly releasing the girl's sleeve one finger at a time. "Rias," I repeated, "Would you mind not blasting my face off?"

Slowly tracking my eyes up and away from the ball of murder-death in front of me. I looked to see Rias breathing heavily, eyes wide and unfocused, pupils shrunken into dots of blue on white. She wasn't making any further movements, which was good, but she still had an iron grip on my arm and it was starting to get painful, devil resilience or no.

Rias' blank eyes drew down from where she had been staring at the wall, locking onto my own pleading gaze. She simply stared without recognition for a moment, but then it seemed like she snapped out of whatever state she had been locked in, her pupils expanding back to their usual size as she snapped the arm that was holding her power of destruction backwards, hastily dispelling the black orb.

"Are you okay? What did I do?"

"Rias," I asked, voice shaking slightly, "could you let go of my arm please?" I wasn't scared of her, but I probably had a nice finger-shaped bruise on my bicep now, and my back was starting to cramp with the position I had been dragged into. The adrenaline rush that I had gotten be staring down into certain death probably didn't help either.

Gasping, Rias released her grip almost instantly, pulling the arm in tight until it was pressed tight against her chest, face paling. "I… I…" Stammering to say something, Rias took one step back, then another, before spinning and running out of the room, barely turning the doorknob before dashing through, slamming the door behind her hard enough to shake the doorframe.

Well I had no clue what had just happened. Rias had been having some kind of breakdown, then reflexively tried to attack me when I interrupted her in the middle of it. I was no psychologist, but I was pretty sure that didn't mean anything good. And if I knew one thing about Rias, it was that her peerage meant everything to her. She must have been absolutely devastated to have almost killed one of them like that.

I needed to go after her, say something, forgive her, whatever it took. But… my legs wouldn't move. They were frozen in place as if I was paralyzed, petrified from the waist down. I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid. I'm. Not. _Afraid_!

And still they refused to work. As useless as two poles buried deep into the ground, I just couldn't move to go after Rias. I… couldn't. Gripping my hands into tight fists, I gritted my teeth, grinding my molars together. This wasn't about me, this was about Rias and how she was probably hating herself right now for something that wasn't her fault.

Breathing deeply, I pulled forth a tendril of magic and ran it up my left arm and into my thumb, where I sunk it into my bloodstream. I could hear rapid steps coming down the padded hallway, most likely a member of the peerage who heard the slamming door and had come to investigate.

They could probably help Rias more than I could. They could probably even help calm me down from the state of heightened anxiety I was in right now. But this wasn't about Rias. This was about me being too much of a selfish idiot to help someone right in front of me!

I activated the magic and inhaled sharply through my teeth as strength filled the finger. Blood pumped rapidly, muscles tensed and were ready to spring free. Curling my fingers into a loose fist, I made a motion like I was flipping a coin with my thumb.

The release of energy made a popping sound like a gun going off and my arm was yanked upwards, pulled along by the inertia. The energy in my thumb died away as the power of the magic was consumed, instead leaving behind before the intense pain that came after my sole magical skill. "See that," I said to myself, lowering my arm back down and glaring at it like it was the problem and not me. "I hurt myself far more than Rias ever would. So get out of the way and let me do this!"

The door to the room crashed open, both Kioko and Akeno rushing through the now open doorway with panicked looks on their faces. "Are you alright?" Asked Kioko as she slowed her pace, walking towards me with a worried look on her face.

Taking a breath, I moved, taking one step forwards. Planting my foot, I gave Kioko a fierce grin as I ignored the stabbing pain from my left thumb. "I'm doing just fine, Kioko-chan." For some reason that only made her eyebrows draw together angrily as she grabbed my left arm, pulling it up between us and shaking the limb back and forth.

"And _this_ is just fine?" she growled, gesturing at my red and swollen wrist and thumb. "Can't you go an hour without injuring yourself?" Is that what she was so upset about? It was just pain! It wouldn't even last ten minutes before it faded, and what's the problem with it, anyway?

"What did you do to Rias-sama?" Akeno asked, anger clear in her tone. Another angry girl after me? "She ran upstairs and locked herself in her room. She won't even talk to me," Akeno added darkly, advancing towards me menacingly.

I took another step forward, looking Akeno in the eyes. "How long has Riser Phenex been Rias' fiancé." She had been thinking about Riser when she had her breakdown and I had a suspicion of why she had reacted like that.

In the blink of an eye, Akeno was in front of me, grabbing the collar of my shirt with one hand and yanking me forward until I was a centimeter away from her purple eyes. "You don't get to ask that! Now what did you do to Rias-sama!"

Kioko stepped to the side and held a spread hand to the black-haired devil's arm. "I would advise you to put my boyfriend down," she said, her eyes flashing darkly. "We were speaking, and I can guarantee that he was not the one at fault in whatever happened."

To compound the cluster of issues, I could hear more footsteps approaching the open door, probably attracted by the yelling. Looking firmly into Akeno's eyes, which were filled with worry and fear, I said as clearly as I could, "Did Riser ever visit Rias when she lived in the underworld?"

"What does that-"

"And is that part of the reason why Rias almost killed me when I touched her while she was having a panic attack?"

Akeno's face went to chalk white in the span of a few seconds, thrusting me away from her, stumbling to catch my footing. Since she was a devil, and a Queen at that, I was propelled back without control and crashed into the couch I had been seated in earlier, pushing the piece of furniture back, even with the deep carpet on the floor of the parlor.

And that was when the rest of the peerage arrived, Kiba blurring into the room with Koneko just behind him. Issei showed up slightly later, panting and with his _Boosted Gear_ activated. I could barely see Asia peeking beneath his arm, green eyes trembling with fear.

Pushing myself back up into a sitting position, I glared resolutely back at Akeno, taking note of the faint crackling of lightning magic around her hand. This wasn't Akeno my teacher, this was Akeno the Queen and she was seeing me as an enemy right now.

Kioko still had her hand hovering barely above Akeno's arm and her dark green eyes were cold. Then there was a pulse of _something_ and Akeno's body jerked violently to the side, her torso pivoting so fast I could hear her spine pop from where I was, before the Queen fell onto the floor in a heap.

In a blur of movement Kiba was behind Kioko, a broadsword lightly touching the back of her neck. Koneko had advanced into the room as well, her bright brown eyes fixed directly on where I was across the room. Asia yelped and ducked beneath Issei's arm, running over to help Akeno as _Twilight Healing_ manifested in a flash of green light. Issei, for his part, stood in the doorway looking conflicted, his eyes flickering from one person to the other as he tried to figure out what to do, who was the enemy.

Marginally turning her head to the right, Kioko glanced back towards Kiba and narrowed her eyes. "That was a warning. She made the first move. Now remove your sword from me before I do something far worse to you for intruding, _knight_."

"Stop." Akeno didn't shout, but when she spoke everyone turned to her, either out of worry or out of confusion and I felt a burst of relief that she wasn't badly injured. I knew Kioko wouldn't kill Akeno, but I wasn't sure how far she would go to defend me.

The noirette was still on the floor, propping herself up with her left hand while she raised the right palm outward in a signal to halt as Asia worked on healing her shoulder. "Horikawa-san is correct. I did make the first aggressive move. Horikawa-san and Kai-san have done nothing wrong."

"She hit you," Koneko said matter-of-factly, not ceasing her steady march towards my own position. Why come towards me when I didn't even make any kind of move to attack! How come she hated me so much anyway? What had I ever done to her?

"And I had roughly handled Kai-san and was preparing to use magic on him," Akeno said in a stern tone, finally getting the small girl to stop a scant meter from my position, although Koneko never took her bland gaze away from me. I could tell that the admission had injured Akeno's pride, one of her facets as a devil, so I spoke up to reduce the impact.

"It was my fault as well." Slumping forward in my seat, I put my elbows on my knees, letting my left wrist and thumb relax as I hung my head. "I got too curious and asked about something I shouldn't have. I provoked Akeno."

I could see Kioko open her mouth to protest, but with a second glance at both Kiba behind her and my slumped form, she closed it again, pressing her mouth into a tight line. That was certainly a relief, the last thing we needed right now in this tense situation was another comment sparking up the argument.

"Why are you guys even trying to take fault in the first place?" Issei, finally taking action. He was still in the doorway, but he had dismissed his sacred gear and was standing with his arms folded, frowning at everyone in the room. "I know that Akeno-san didn't really mean to hurt Kado-san, and I know that Kado-san wouldn't do anything to hurt Akeno-san."

As if that solved the whole argument, Issei nodded decisively, unfolding his arms. "And since nobody meant to hurt anyone else-" I saw Kioko bite back a comment at that, "-we should just apologize and move on. We shouldn't waste time when we need to be working to save Buchou!"

A small smile emerged on my face, hidden beneath the shadow cast by my hair. This was why you could always count on Issei. Sliding off the couch with a small wince, I stood up straight and bowed low to Akeno. "I sincerely apologize, Akeno-senpai. I was too curious and got carried away, but I can assure you that I meant no ill will."

I held the position for a few seconds before raising myself back up and making eye contact with Akeno. After I apologized, Akeno would have no choice but to reciprocate or risk looking petty.

Akeno blinked, then shook her head with a smirk, waving off Asia who had completed the healing. "If my kohai apologizes like that, how can I do anything less?" Getting her feet beneath her, Akeno stood with the natural grace of her species and bowed in return, keeping her head low. "I humbly apologize as well, Kai-san. I was overprotective and saw a threat where there was none. Forgive my rash actions."

Relaxing now that the tense situation had been mostly resolved, I nodded. "Easily done, there is no reason to hold a grudge." I would just be glad to have the whole complicated thing over and done with, although I knew it wouldn't really end until after Rias had recovered from the shock of almost killing me.

Issei beamed from where he was standing like a proud father watching over his squabbling children. Giving out a cheer, Issei thrust his fist into the air in excitement, as if he had completely forgotten that we were just about to kill each other. "Great! Now who's ready to go train like crazy and protect Rias from the fried-chicken jerk!"

Asia immediately pattered over to the enthusiastic brunette, taking shelter behind his wide body to block her line of sight from me. Koneko took longer, staring at me for several moments before turning and walking away without a word. Seriously, what was up with her? Kiba waited even longer, his sword still steady at the back of Kioko's neck, but he eventually pulled back the tip and caused the blade to dissipate before walking over to Issei, casting a suspicious look back at Kioko and I.

Akeno was the last one, watching each member of the peerage as they walked to the now-stuffed doorway before she too followed after them. The usually-teasing devil was uncharacteristically serious as she turned back to the two of us still remaining in the room, one hand on the doorknob. "Don't speak a word of what you discovered to anyone."

And with that foreboding comment, she closed the door behind her with a quiet click, a sharp contrast to Rias' frantic exit of minutes before. I knew exactly what she was talking about.

I could only guess, but it would probably be an enormous scandal if it was discovered that the heiress to one of the great devil pillars had been harassed by another heir to a devil house. It matched far too easily with what I had seen of Riser Phenex, treating his peerage like property was only a step away from treating his fiancé the same.

It was too late to do anything about what had happened in the past, but it certainly reaffirmed my desire to punch Riser Phenex straight in the mouth the next time I saw him. Stepping forward to go begin training again as well, I was halted after barely two steps by Kioko's firm hand to my chest. "Kioko-chan?"

Kioko was glaring up at me, hair still done up in the ponytail from earlier in the day, and pushing hard on my chest to keep me from advancing. "And just what do you think you're doing?"

I blinked, confused. "I was just going to train with the rest of the peerage. I can't just take it easy while they're all working their hardest to save Rias-san."

"Oh no you don't!" Kioko barked out, pushing harder, forcing me to take a step back. I took another step as she kept pushing, my foot impacting the edge of the sofa that I had just barely vacated, forcing me to lean back and shift my balance to keep from falling down onto it.

Kioko huffed and gave me another shove, this time with both hands, finally forcing me to sit down. Looking down at me with both hands folded onto her hips, my visibly angry girlfriend glowered down with clear frustration in her eyes. "And did you forget what we had been discussing before that trigger-happy queen burst in and interrupted us?"

No, I actually hadn't, but I had certainly been hoping that you had. "It's not that bad," I protested, holding up my left hand as proof. The swelling had already faded slightly and I was used to the pain by now, so it would barely slow me down while training. Sure push-ups might be a bit difficult, but there were plenty of other exercises or training activities I could do as well.

"That's not the point," Kioko argued back, not letting up a bit. "The problem is your constant use of magic even though it damages your body!"

"How is pain hurting me?"

Kioko facepalmed, but I could still see one baleful eye glaring back at me through a gap in her fingers. "Ignoring the _complete idiocy_ of that statement, it's not just pain, as you call it. The aftershocks of your power rip apart the tissues of your body, then stitch it back together using the same power that broke it in the first place, leading to a loop of destruction and reconstruction."

That actually explained a lot about why it hurt so much. I folded my arms stubbornly. "It's fine though, what's wrong with it breaking so long as it heals up afterward?" Sure it sounded bad, but if the end result was a healed hand, what did it matter what happened in the meantime.

"This is why it's so hard to deal with you," Kioko muttered, finally letting her hand drop from her face, folding her arms instead. "I can see two problems right off the bat. One, your body wasn't meant to be used like that, and if you keep carrying on like you have been, you'll barely be able to use your hands or body at all in a year.

"And two, have you ever considered what would happen if you gave your 'spell' too much power?" She used air-quotes again, something that made me want to smile, but I held off since I was pretty sure Kioko would see that as taking the topic lightly. Kioko moved on, not waiting for an answer. "You could destroy your body, or at least a part of it, so badly that you wouldn't be able to be healed at all."

Kioko gave me a flat look, clearly unimpressed with how seriously I was taking this. "Imagine this." And now I was having flashbacks to my conversation with Rias earlier. "You use your spell and give it a bit too much magic. Your arm explodes in a burst of fire and blood."

Startled by the blunt statement, I reflexively grabbed my left arm, as if checking to make sure it was still there. My girlfriend nodded, looking smug that I was finally getting the picture. "There you have it. Hopefully now you get why overusing your ability like a brand new toy is a bad idea."

I did, but I also made a mental note to keep practicing when I could. If I could control it to the point where I could get a burst of strength but didn't hurt myself, then I could keep using it without any negative repercussions at all, right?

Kioko stared intensely at my face, as if looking for a sign of guilt, before nodding decisively. "So I expect to not hear about any more of this destructive habit after this." Finally relaxing from her stern persona, Kioko slumped down on the seat next to me, resting her head on the top of the cushioned headrest and cozied up closer to my side.

"I really do worry about you," she murmured quietly. "And I can't bear the thought of you hurting yourself or not being able to keep doing what you love by the time we're old enough to be married."

I knew what she meant, and carefully put an arm around her shoulders, not saying anything just yet. I cast a quick glance at the door, but switched my attention back to Kioko, settling deeper into the soft couch cushion. Training could wait a bit longer. Taking care of my girlfriend came first.

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

Later the same day, after yet another lunch of curry due to Issei's culinary passion, we were all seated in the same parlor that had almost become a battlefield for another magic lesson. Settling into what was starting to be my regular seat in the corner of a couch with Kioko by my side, I noticed a few things that had changed from the last times I had been in the room.

First, that nothing seemed to be out of place. I didn't know if someone had come back in and cleaned it up or if magic was used, but it was like the fight had never happened. Relatively speaking, that meant that the couch I was now sitting on had been moved back to where it was before I was thrown into it. But it was still a little disappointing that the event had just been cleaned up and smoothed over like it never happened.

Second and more importantly, Rias wasn't in attendance. The rest of the peerage was gathered around on the various pieces of furniture, but Rias' long red hair was nowhere to be found. Akeno had told me just before the gathering that Rias hadn't come out or spoken to anyone since she had locked herself in previously. The glare that accompanied her words clearly said that the black-haired devil held me personally accountable.

Normally Rias would be teaching tonight, but due to her absence Akeno had proposed that Asia teach us about some of the holy artifacts and weapons that exorcists used against devils. It wasn't really useful while preparing for a rating game against other devils, but it wasn't a bad lesson on short notice. Asia even had managed to get a bible and a small vial of water from somewhere.

"Holy water can be created by a blessing from either a bishop or a priest," Asia said, sounding more confident than she usually did. She still didn't look in my direction though, her eyes flitting rapidly between Akeno and Issei as if she didn't know which way to speak. "Because it has been blessed by God it is extremely harmful to devils, feeling like acid if a devil touches it."

…That was a suspiciously specific description. As if to verify my guess, Asia's shoulders dropped low, her face suddenly growing despondent. "Which means I can't use it to cleanse myself anymore."

She tried it, didn't she. I just hope she didn't get hurt too badly. Akeno seemed preoccupied and didn't comment, but Issei called out encouragement from the sidelines, which seemed to cheer Asia up considerably. Kiba and Koneko were silent, but that was nothing new for them.

Asia forged ahead with a burst of confidence, bolstered by Issei's support. Honestly, they were such a cute couple. "The Holy Bible is another artifact used by exorcists. The verses within it are divine symbols, and so cause harm to any devil that hears or reads them." Was it the words inside the bible then, or the act of reading from a bible? It wasn't important enough to disturb Asia when she was doing so well though, so I kept quiet and let her carry on.

Asia mentioned a few other things, like how hearing the name of God —we all got a headache as she accidentally said it— would hurt a devil and that if a devil tried to pray they would gain a headache. It honestly seemed finicky, like bunch of rules copy-pasted together to form a rulebook. Why did saying God's name hurt each devil that heard it, but praying would only hurt the devil who attempted the action?

And that was where Asia stopped. The silence hung uncomfortably in the air for a time, Akeno still too distracted to pick up the slack left behind in time. Which was fine by me since I wanted to say something myself. "Wait, that's it?"

Asia blushed, embarrassed, but nodded, her gaze affixed on the floor. "Y-Yes, any holy energy harms devils, since it's against their nature. Those… those are the main things with that bring holy energy from heaven."

Sighing, I carefully levered Kioko away from where she had been pressed into my side, silent up to this point. I'd half-suspected she was asleep, but she seemed to be looking at me with curious eyes, wide awake. Standing up from the couch, I took a moment to stretch before stepping forward and gently shooing Asia out of the middle of the circle of furniture and over towards Issei.

"Ara ara, M-kun," Akeno began, finally paying enough attention to actually comment on something. "So rough, pushing a young girl like that. Don't you have any patience?" Issei seemed to agree with her judging by the glare he shot me as he scooted over on his own sofa, making room for Asia. Koneko nodded once as well, before returning to her back of assorted snacks she'd brought along.

I raked a hand through my hair, brushing the slightly too-long strands out of my vision. "I honestly mean no offense to you Asia, that was a very good primer of what to avoid as devils." The nun nodded, but she was also attempting to glue herself to Issei's side so I wasn't entirely convinced that she had forgiven me that easily.

"I just wanted to mention something to ensure we don't forget." I raised a finger up in the air, a bland look on my face. "Who here has been stabbed by a light sword, shot by a light gun, or impaled by a light spear."

Akeno looked surprised, but hers was one of the first hands raised. Issei was next, his hand shooting into the air, shortly followed by Asia's more hesitant arm, only half raised. When had she been harmed by light energy? My jaw clenched as I thought about the young girl being injured either in Italy or while in the company of the fallen angels. Koneko cocked one eyebrow, but her hand lazily rose as well.

In the end, the only people who didn't raise their hands were Kioko, who hadn't ever faced fallen angels or exorcists, and Kiba, who I assumed used the speed of his knight piece to avoid the attacks.

"Right," I drawled sardonically. "I think I'd like to hear a bit more about those, if you don't mind. I've been hurt far more by _direct injection_ of holy energy than by the occasional headache, as annoying as they may be."

Akeno was giggling before I even finished speaking, either my words or my attitude amusing her for whatever reason. I don't think I'll ever understand her. "Fufufu, it seems like we've overlooked something after all. I do suppose we should discuss the topic."

Glancing at Asia, I noticed she had uncurled more from Issei's side, sitting slightly farther away now, although she still had a loose grip on the boy's sleeve. Turning around to go sit back down at my own seat, I froze as my devil instincts warned me of danger behind me.

"Fufu, well if you're so passionate about the topic, M-kun, would you please tell us what you know about the 'direct injection' of holy energy."

Forcing my expression into a smile, I turned back around to Akeno. "Of course! I would be glad to!" If this would finally clear Akeno's ire than it would be worth it. Squaring my shoulders, I took a deep breath and tried to think about how to go about this.

I really knew nothing about light swords or light guns, and probably even less about the light spears that the fallen used. I wouldn't be able to give any kind of advice, all I would be able to do is share my own experience.

First, start off with a joke. That's what all public speakers do. "For those of you who don't know me, I'm Kai Kado, and I'll be your teacher and source of entertainment for the moment." That did get a chuckle from a few people so I assumed I was doing fine so far.

Resisting the urge to scratch the back of my head, I gathered my thoughts. "Okay… well the first thing I should tell you is that light guns don't shoot holy energy shaped like bullets, they shoot bullets made from holy energy."

The phrase hung in the air for a moment before Issei raised a hand, using the other one to hold his head. "Wait, what? That makes no sense! Didn't you just say the same thing twice." Turning my head, I could see Koneko nodding again while Akeno started giggling again.

Running what I just said back through my mind again, I cringed. "That was a really bad way to describe it, sorry." I took a second to think of a better way to explain it. "What I mean is that it's made of holy energy, which really hurts devils." Burns like lava in my veins actually, but I'd get to that in a second. "But it's still a bullet, so even if they shot a normal human with it, they'd still be dead."

Asia bent over holding her stomach and I suddenly realized that probably wasn't the best way to get the concept across either. Even Akeno had stopped laughing, probably putting the clues together about as well as I had. Kiba's usual face of bland interest was gone, replaced by something dark and cold. Exorcists didn't just hunt devils, they hunted other threats to the church as well. Heretics.

Clearing my throat, I moved on in an effort to get away from the clearly uncomfortable topic. "I assume that light swords work the same way, and exorcists probably carry both on them at all times, judging from what Issei reported of the exorcist that attacked him." Now it was Issei's turn to grab his thigh with a pained look on his face. Way to go, Kado. Just bring up everyone's traumas, why don't you.

"So!" I said, just a bit too loudly, bringing my temporary students attention back to me. "I suppose that brings us to the last weapon I mentioned. The fallen angel's light spear." My thoughts sped ahead, planning what I was going to say next even as I said something completely different.

"Fallen angels were once angels but were exiled from heaven for committing a sufficiently great sin. Even though they have lost their connection to heaven, they still retain the ability to use holy energy to create weapons, usually taking the form of spears." Way to explain something they already know, Kado. Why not tell them their names while you're at it?

"They are created out of the same holy energy as the light bullets and the blades of light swords, so they'll do physical damage just fine." I had stopped paying attention to the various reactions I was getting around the circle now, just trying to concentrate on getting through the "lesson" and quit bringing up painful topics.

"Getting stabbed by holy energy feels like…" I fished around for a description before latching onto one that sounded about right. "It's like you're being invaded or infected. You can feel the light energy cutting into you, burning like magma. It's like if I lit just my blood on fire, and then felt the flames spread through my body.

"The feeling really only spreads for a few feet, but when I got shot in the ankle all I could feel until about my knee was pain. Good news is that it doesn't really get worse from there, so I barely even noticed I had a hole in my foot-"

Asia doubled over and threw up onto the carpet beneath her, the dinner she had consumed just before re-emerging due to nausea.

She stayed there, panting, shaking like a leaf for a few seconds. Then there was a flurry of motion, Issei panicking and picking up Asia to carry her somewhere else, Akeno supporting the small girl's other side.

I'd moved forward as well, hoping I could do something to assist, but Asia tensed up as I drew closer, jerking back and away from me and I was immediately waved away. Kiba opened the door, already in place due to his speed, while Koneko escorted the entire group out of the room from behind, closing the door solidly after they passed through.

Which left me and Kioko alone in a room with a pile of vomit. I put my face into my heads and rubbed my eyes with the heels of my palms for a second before I raised my head back up, pushing aside the shame and guilt of being discarded as useless once again.

I sighed, turning to look at Kioko, who was still sitting on the couch, although now she had a pitying look on her face while looking at the door. "I wish Asia had told someone she wasn't feeling well," I said. "We wouldn't have made her teach us if we'd known she was sick." Really, that was just like her though. She probably thought she would be letting us down if she'd said anything.

Kioko's head swiveled to look at mine, eyes wide before she blinked, sighing as her shoulders slumped slightly. "Honestly, Kado-kun."

"What? What did I say?"

Kioko walked over to me and gently hugged me, turning her head so her right ear was just above my heart. I folded my arms around her in return, basking in her warmth and comfort.

"You never told me you were attacked by a fallen angel."

And just like that the spell was broken. Kioko's embrace felt like a delicate vice, and my hands recoiled from her back before hanging limply by my sides. I had completely forgotten that I never told her, not wanting her to worry.

"Yeah, I did." I said simply. I wanted to be closer to her, right? I'd told myself I wouldn't keep lying to her, wouldn't keep trying to protect her when she was the one protecting me. It was time I proved that I meant what I'd said.

Slowly pulling away, my hand found Kioko's own soft one and led her over to the couch, lightly tugging her to sit beside me. Taking a deep breath to center myself, I looked up directly into Kioko's eyes. They didn't judge, didn't blame. They just accepted.

"It all happened when we shadowed Issei and Asia, the time when I let Issei beat me at all the arcade games." Honesty, Kado. Honesty. "No, when he thoroughly defeated me in every game."

Kioko rolled her eyes as if to say that she'd already known it, but her hand squeezed my own for a brief moment, and I knew she understood.

"When Issei and Asia went off to talk by themselves, you started acting weird. You stood up and started to…"

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

"…So I left some money on the counter and ran out of the store, trying to find you as fast as I could." It was almost an hour later when I wrapped up, feeling lighter than air that I'd finally gotten that off my chest. It wasn't like I'd really been trying to hide it, but it was more of a floaty feeling that I'd come clean to Kioko and she didn't hate me for it.

We sat there in silence for a moment, the room still dimly lit by the light of the lamps on the walls. Opening my mouth to thank Kioko for listening, I was interrupted by the door opening and a disheveled head of red hair poking into the room.

Rias' eyes were red and had dark bags beneath them, even though she hadn't missed any sleep in the half-day she'd been locked away in her room. She visibly flinched when she saw me, but didn't back out, instead coming farther into the room and folding her hands in front of her.

I waited, not saying a word. Maybe it was slightly spiteful, but I'd already had a day of being pushed around by the peerage for something that wasn't my fault and I wanted to hear Rias apologize first.

Rias didn't disappoint, bowing her head low, something that must have been completely foreign to someone brought up in a noble family like Rias. "Kai-san, I have no excuse for my behavior, and I am truly remorseful for-"

"Rias, forget the prepared speech." Cutting her off, I wagged a finger in admonishment. I don't know how long she spent locked away hating herself for a mistake, but there was no need to drag this out any longer than needed. Rias never had to worry about prettying things up so I'd accept them. "All I'm looking for is two words, Rias."

The rumpled hair shifted as Rias straightened, looking at me with annoyance and something calculating. I made eye contact and held the stare, an easy smile on my face.

Rias broke first, looking away and using one hand to further rustle her strands of red hair while the other absently smoothed her school uniform. "I'm… sorry." The words were halting, and Rias couldn't look me in the eyes when she said them, but I could tell she was sincere.

I leaned back, linking my arms behind my head and taking a relaxed pose. "Then you're forgiven. That's all there is to it. You didn't intentionally hurt me, and you felt remorse about the mistake, so there's nothing to worry about."

Rias slowly nodded, but I could tell she didn't fully believe me. Slow steps bringing her closer, the messy hairess (heh) sat down on a chair across from where Kioko and I were seated, looking down at her hands and not saying a word.

We stayed there in a silence that wasn't comfortable but wasn't tense for several minutes, before I levered myself off the couch, extending and hand to Kioko to help her rise as well. "I suppose we'd better be getting some sleep now, another day of training tomorrow after all."

Rias minutely flinched at my words, drawing back into herself further but still not saying anything. Internally sighing, I walked past her seated form, giving her a pat on the shoulder as I left. I'd already said everything I needed to, it would be up to Rias whether she believed me or not.

* * *

End AN: And done! Thanks and congratulations who actually stuck through all of that. Bonus points if you read this chapter all in one sitting.

1: Weird things are happening to Kado and that's not normal.

2: There was an entire 2.5k scene I wrote about _how_ exactly Akeno "retired" from teaching Kado, but lets just say that it wasn't her own idea.

3: Rias' backstory is changed slightly, giving her another reason why she wants to be as far away from Riser as physically possible. Her canon reason, that he just saw her as the Gremory heir and not as herself was perfectly fine, but as I was writing this and the last chapter, it just made too much sense not to add in. Gives Rias more reason to flee to Earth, as well, which fit in nicely.

4: The peerage is slightly polarized against Kado now, not enough that it'll affect their battles, but they'll think back on this in the future, a time when they chose between the peerage and Kado and they chose the peerage.

That's it for now since I'm short on time and late already, but I hope to see you all next week for the actual rating game! (Which is only one chapter as of yet in contrast to the 22k words the training camp took.)


	15. Sona is Sending Riser Death Threats

AN: First off, I'm not sorry.

I do regret that I wasn't able to get this chapter out sooner, but I don't regret taking the extra week writing and rewriting it. Plus you guys get a 14k word chapter so you don't have to wait yet another week for the rating game conclusion. This is the last chapter that I had prewritten, but there's a pretty basic fact that I have discovered as I rewrote this. I am absolutely awful at fight scenes.

Now I feel like I've improved while doing this chapter, but the first and second and second-point-five drafts were all absolutely horrible and I could not release them in good conscience when you guys deserve more and I knew I could do better. So this is version 3.0, improved and dressed-up into something that hopefully makes a lick of sense.

And I still hate action scenes.

Warning: There is _definitely_ violence in this chapter since I can't write nice things, so be warned if that's not your cup of tea. I tried to keep from going into as much detail as my sick little muse wanted, but I'm still considering possibly upping the story rating to M, just in case.

Disclaimer: Yeah, pretty sure this never happened in the original Highschool DxD. Also it's fight scenes were much better than this.

 **Edit: I added a couple lines that change future chapters at the very bottom. If you've already read this chapter, go read that real quick.**

* * *

We appeared in a flash of red magic, the elaborate magic circle beneath our feet disappearing as we were deposited in the Occult Clubroom. It hadn't changed at all since we'd last been here, same table, same couches, and same tacky skulls. Seriously, what was the point of those?

The teleportation made my chest ache for some reason and I rubbed it with a grimace as the peerage drifted off the dais where the Gremory circle was located. The entire peerage had teleported here from the training camp, leaving only Kioko behind.

Since Kioko wasn't a part of a Gremory peerage she couldn't teleport with us and had to go back the long way. Kioko had assured me that she'd find me once the rating game was over, to either celebrate or plan, and I knew that she could take care of herself.

We'd gone over the final plan for the rating game before leaving the camp, so there really wasn't anything left to do now but wait around for the actual battle to start. Plopping down on one of the two couches, I unconsciously checked the time on a gothic styled clock, the numbers looking like they were written in blood. Seriously, what was up with this decoration?

The rating game would begin in less than half an hour. It wasn't like we had to wait the rest of the day but it was still longer than I would like. And by the look of the rest of the peerage, they agreed.

Kiba had sat down next to me and was smiling blankly at a wall adorned with a poster of a pentagram drawn from blood, looking almost like his usual self. He was wearing a fancy-looking white shirt and black pants that almost looked like a tuxedo, as if he was just going to attend a wedding instead of a death battle. But the way that he was absently manifesting swords from his sacred gear before dismissing them revealed his own nervousness.

The only armor that Kiba was wearing was a single shiny metal shin guard on his right leg. The first time I'd seen it I'd wondered out loud if that was really the place most people were going to attack him. Kiba had responded by calmly kicking my legs out from under me before describing in great detail how undamaged his leg was due to his strategic placement of armor. I got the point and didn't make fun of his armor again.

My eyes drifting across the room and landed on Koneko, seated in a armchair that seemed much too large for her, which was normal for the girl. She wasn't eating anything sugary though, which was proof of her own nervousness, even if nothing else seemed to show it. She was wearing her school uniform like usual, the one change being the pink and black cat-patterned fighting gloves on her hands.

At least Akeno was acting normal, calmly sipping a cup of tea that she had begun making once we arrived in the clubroom. If she was completely relaxed though, Akeno probably would have offered everyone else a cup of tea as well. Her hospitality was breaking down already, not a good sign. Her wardrobe change was the biggest among us though, a fancy shrine maiden outfit in white with ed trim. I suppose that's where she got the nickname of "Priestess of Thunder."

The sofa across from me was occupied by Issei and Asia, the former making strange faces at his manifested sacred gear, probably talking to Ddraig. At least he'd figured out how to do so without talking out loud, something that I was extremely grateful for due to the randomness of their conversations. He was simply dressed in his school uniform like usual, looking slightly out of place among everyone else.

Asia on the other hand was fastened to Issei's other arm, the one he wasn't making faces at, and seemed to be reciting something under her breath. She was dressed in her old nun's habit as well, something I hadn't seen since that disastrous double date where she was kidnapped.

I held my gaze on Asia a little longer before looking away, feeling guilty. I'd been told that I'd caused Asia's nausea by describing how much it had hurt to be tortured by Raynare, forgetting that Asia had been there healing me the entire time. It must have triggered some kind of flashback for the young girl. After that night she seemed like she was more independent, not sticking to Issei as much, although she was clearly still attached to her boyfriend.

She still avoided me, and I tried to do the same in exchange, hoping to keep her from having another flashback like before. It was probably why she had been staying away from me in the first place, and now I felt like a jerk for trying to get Asia to talk to me when I had been causing something like that.

And lastly, Rias. She was the one who had the most at stake in this battle. By marrying Riser, Rias' peerage would come under Riser's control, but we all knew he was really interested in Rias, we were just an obstacle to obtaining her.

The king was seated behind her desk, relaxing in her luxurious chair with her eyes closed and hands folded on her stomach. The entire peerage knew she was nervous, her entire fate was riding on the next few hours, after all. But she wouldn't show it, always the strong leader.

And so we waited, each with their own individual thoughts and concerns, but all revolving around Rias. We were her servants and she was our king. We would defend her, not just because she was our king, but because she was worth it.

I nervously checked my pockets again, pulling out several pages torn from a holy bible that gave me a slight stinging feeling in my fingers simply from holding them. I would have borrowed the holy water from Asia as well, but those had been banned from official rating games, along with crosses. They'd overlooked bibles though, not thinking anyone would try to weaponize a book.

And those were the only weapons I had. No sword, no gun, no… brass knuckles or whatever. Anything I could get on short notice wouldn't stand up to devil strength, and we were forbidden from receiving aid from any of the devil houses or factions. No armor either, just a white t-shirt from home and a scuffed-up pair of jeans.

I had my own ideas of how to help, though. Staring down at my hand I squeezed it into a fist and grinned like a shark at the feeling of magic thrumming deep beneath the surface.

I _would not_ be useless.

The peerage was finally broken out of their collective thoughts when a low ringing sound, like a bell, rang throughout the room, emanating from a small box on Rias' desk. Rias opened her eyes and stood up, an action I mirrored along with the rest of the peerage as we all stood in front of Rias.

"It is-" Rias' voice cracked and she swallowed before speaking again. "It is time for the rating game to begin."

Not a moment later, I felt the same ache in my chest that I had experienced earlier and realized we had just been teleported. There had been no sign of a magic circle, but I had definitely felt it.

"Hey, the sky's all weird!" Issei shouted from where he was leaning out one window. Coming up behind the brown-haired boy, I could see past his shoulder that the sky was a blank uniform white, no sign of clouds or any kind of celestial body. I swallowed, thinking about what kind of power it would take to manifest another dimension of this size.

The box still on Rias' desk rang again before abruptly shutting off with a click, a vaguely familiar voice filling room that seemed to emanate from the sky but wasn't obstructed at all by the fact that we were inside a building.

"Welcome to the rating game between the peerage of Rias Gremory of the house of Gremory and the peerage of Riser Phenex, of the house of Phenex. I am Grayfia, the maid of Sirzechs Lucifer, and will be the administrator and referee of this battle."

Huh, I'd thought that Grayfia was Rias' maid, what with the "Ojou-sama" that she'd called Rias by when we first met. And if they're that close, wouldn't Grayfia be considered biased? Not that I minded, but I'd rather not have our victory overruled because people said there was interference from the administrator.

"The battlefield is a replication of Rias Gremory's school, Kuoh Academy, as agreed upon by both kings," Grayfia went on, her bland voice sounding more like a text-to-speech program than the announcer for a rating game. "Both teams are beginning in their territory. The Gremory peerage territory is the Occult Research Club main room, while the Phenex peerage territory is the Student Council Offices in the main building. Pawns must advance to their opponents territory before being allowed to promote."

I wonder if Sona was watching? If she was, she was probably incredibly upset at Riser for claiming her offices as his territory. It honestly wasn't bad strategically either, since we would have to navigate throughout almost the entire school before reaching the territory with plenty of chances to be ambushed along the way.

Grayfia continued explaining the rules and I refocused on what she was saying. We had gone over all the official rules before the game, but we had also considered the possibility of the Phenex team slipping in an alternate rule just before the game began so I tried to listen closely.

"Kings are able to communicate with their peerage through the rings provided to each peerage beforehand." Rias opened the small box that had first given the warning and inside was a set of seven ornate silver rings with the Gremory crest, all nestled in black velvet.

I reached for a ring and got mine third, slipping it onto the middle finger of my right hand and wincing slightly as the band tightened to the point where it wouldn't come off during battle. Akeno began to make a dull joke about not expecting to receive a ring from a girl, but was hushed by Koneko as Grayfia announced the final instructions.

"Each team may have up to two items they do not produce during the rating game, but that is all." My pages counted as one, and Kiba's leg-guard the other. Nobody else had any items that hadn't been registered with Grayfia ten days ago. "The game will continue until one king has retired or until six hours have passed. The rating game between house Gremory and house Phenex begins now."

We had been waiting for that, and Koneko punched down the door, knowing that it would provide no shelter from enemies before jumping out a window, trailing shattered glass behind her as she took the short route down to the ground. Kiba was right after her, utilizing the same window and relying on his speed to handle the fall without breaking any bones.

Akeno began to set up some magical traps around the perimeter of the room and the school, but she would soon be flying off to support the peerage from the skies.

Issei was the next one out of the room, and I followed just behind him. We weren't quite sturdy enough to take a two story fall unharmed, so we were forced to take the stairway down, skipping three stairs at a time as we descended.

Pausing for a moment after reaching the doors to the old school building, Issei gave me a wide grin and thumbs up. "See you after we win, Kado-san!"

Smirking, I gave him a casual two-finger salute in response. "Punch Riser's face in for me, will you?"

"I'll have to punch him for myself first," Issei laughed, pushing open the doors to the school grounds. It was still midday, but since we were in a pocket dimension without any sun I didn't have to worry about my sensitivity.

Issei and I split up, the other pawn to the gym to meet up with Koneko, and I to the main school building.

The rating game to decide Rias' fate had begun.

I headed to the school, taking the long way around the sports field and sticking close to the equipment sheds, trying to stay out of sight. I could feel my earlier nervousness beginning to drain out of me now that I was in action. It helped that I didn't have a major part either, so how well I did wouldn't drastically affect the outcome of the rating game.

My role was to head into the school and harass any pieces there, force them to use resources capturing me that they needed elsewhere. I should make it there after most of their pieces had already left, leaving just a few guards.

So basically, I was a distraction. Almost an afterthought. It would have been nice to have played a more key role, but I knew that even after the ten days of training I still couldn't win a fight against any other member of the peerage.

I paused at the edge of the field, a small hill next to the gymnasium and the rear of the school, and readied myself for the last dash across the open area to the back door of the school. Not spotting any figures in the open area, I bolted down the hill, putting my head down and pumping my legs as fast as I could.

Seconds later my devil instincts flared, warning me of an attack an instants before the ground to my left exploded, throwing up chunks of dirt and stone that peppered my body as I was thrown to the side.

Landing on my side I rolled down the dusty hill at high speed, only stopping when I reached the bottom. I was covered in dust and dirt now, but unhurt and still alive. I took a moment to glance up at the sky as I gracelessly scrambled to my feet, ignoring the stinging on my face and arms where I'd been hit by stray shrapnel from the explosion. There was a silhouette high above me in the sky, bat-like wings fulling extended in a glide as the figure lazily circled.

Behind me on the hillside was a crater blasted into the ground, water from a burst pipe slowly leaking out to form a puddle at the bottom of the hole. It wasn't hard to put the pieces together. Yubelluna, the "bomb queen" and someone I had been told to avoid at all costs.

Barely getting my feet beneath me I dashed off towards the school, hoping to make it to the safety of the building before the ferocious queen could fire off another shot, the next one more accurate.

I couldn't be taken down here, before I could help in the battle, but the distance between me and the doors leading into the school seemed so far away, too far to reach in time.

It would reveal my hand early, but I had no choice. With a mental flick like flipping a switch I pulled out a tiny trickle of magic, splitting it further into two pieces and trailing them into my legs, sinking the demonic energy deeper and feeling it soak into my veins and muscles.

Skidding to a stop and reflexively ducking a bolt of magic that sent up another spray of soil just in front of me, I triggered the magic, feeling the glow in my legs, closer to a lightbulb than a sun, but still enough to feel like I could kick through a wall.

Judging the distance between me and the door, I smirked, a surge of confidence pushing me on. Tensing the muscles I pushed off, blasting a miniature crater in the earth where I had been standing and rocketing forward, covered meters in a single second. Landing I slapped one foot down, digging it into the surface and feeling small stones through my shoes before I was off again, farther and faster.

My last step was a meter from the door and as the foot impacted I spun, rotating so I was facing back the way I had come before pushing off again and launching myself through the door and into the school, back-first.

The wood around the doorjam only resisted for a moment, the wood crunching as it compacted before shattering, the door opening wide as I flew through it and hit the floor hard. Through the wide-open door I saw the circling silhouette above hold in one position for a moment before flying off at a different angle, giving up on hunting me down when there was bigger prey around.

Breathing out a sigh of relief I shut off the magic in my legs, feeling the glow sink down to almost nothing. I only had a few seconds before the pain would hit like usual, but I took the opportunity to smile, proud that my technique had worked perfectly the first time I tried it in a real combat situation.

I'd managed to get a good handle on controlling how much demonic energy went into each burst of strength so I wouldn't be crippling myself with each use of the power, but I got less of a boost in exchange and would still be limping around for the short-term future.

"Well, now ain't that surprisin'." The voice was loud in the silence left behind by my sudden entrance, and had a foreign twang to it. Cringing at the sudden sound and berating myself for completely missing that there was someone else in the room, I got my arms beneath me and pushed myself up onto my feet, whipping around to see who else was in the room.

The room I was in was closer to a short hallway, with one door at the far end and small cubicles lining the walls for stored items or tools. Standing at the other end of the chamber with a confident look in her eyes was a women with long navy hair tied in a ponytail at the top of her head and brown eyes, a white dress with black lines draping her body and conspicuously open at the chest and along the sides of the legs. The final piece of clothing was black boots with thick soles and two-inch heels.

The most defining feature though was the giant sword she was holding casually with her right hand, the broad almost ax-like edge almost brushing the floor. The sword was almost as tall as Siris herself and about half as wide, excluding the tip. It looked like a giant slab of steel that was forced into the shape of a sword and I didn't even want to think about how strong the girl had to be to be carrying it with one hand like she was.

This was Siris, one of Riser's knights, known for being as strong as she was fast. Riser's preferred strategy was to hold Siris in reserve for part of the game and then have her perform a blitz attack, laying low multiple pieces in an ambush before being brought down.

"Who are you," I asked warily, hands up in front of me in a ridiculously weak stance. I needed to make her underestimate me, see me as just a weak pawn. If she decided not to take any chances, I was as good as defeated now. I slipped into analysis mode, eyes flickering around the small room to find any possible advantage.

The room was small so at least the knight wouldn't be able to swing her sword around wildly, instead having to use thrusts or vertical strokes. The shelves lining the walls mostly had gloves in them, used by gardening students, and the few tools that were there, shovels and shears, wouldn't be able to stand up against well-crafted steel.

"Me?" Asked the girl, poking a thumb back at her chest with a smirk. "I'm the 'delinquent type.'" That both gives me no information and far more than I wanted to know.

Shooting the girl a deadpan look while still keeping my weak stance, I said, "Please tell me Riser didn't just gather a peerage because he wanted an easy harem." The thought that he was using his pieces like that made me feel like punching something, and the feeling got worse when I thought about Rias being added to it.

Siris' cocky smirk turned into a frown as she leaned forwards slightly, her fingers tightening around the hilt of the sword angled by her side. "And what about it? What are ya gonna do about it, kid?"

The muscles in my legs started seizing up, right on time. I set my feet firmly into the ground, holding each leg rigid to hide how badly they were shaking. "Just surprised you're working for such a shallow jerk who cares more about his 'harem' than the people in it."

The knight growled lowly at my words, taking a step forward and reaching around to grab the hilt of her sword with the other hadn. That was the only warning I got, the head of her giant sword lifting up from the ground and rushing at me in a dark-gray blur of steel accelerated by the knight's incredible strength. It was a sweeping strike, arcing upwards from my left side and aiming to cleave through my torso and leave me in two pieces.

But the tiny instant of movement before the attack was enough forewarning and I was already squatting low, using the devil's sense of balance to lean backwards and shave off precious centimeters off my height, allowing the blade to curve above my head, not even brushing my hair.

The heavy sword had too much momentum to stop in time and crashed through the shelving before it dug deeply into the wall of the chamber, slicing through wood and plaster easily before eventually halting, the curved tip embedded halfway in the wall.

Siris would need a moment to pull her sword free before attacking me again, giving me enough breathing room to either try an attack or to run. If I ran in for an attack, Siris could just punch me directly and I wouldn't be able to hurt her anyway. But escaping outside would give the knight more room to attack me and use her speed in her favor.

I spun and ran back out of the room on stiff legs that popped with each step, straight through the door I had blasted open in my entrance, not stopping until I was a good five meters away from the building, turning back around to see if I was being followed.

The knight hadn't followed me yet, but I could vaguely see her tall form still inside the building. Moments later the navy-haired girl stepped out, sword once again held in one hand, squinting her eyes to adjust them to the sudden brightness of outdoors.

"Wahl now, just when I thought ya had some guts, saying something like that, you turn tail and run away on me." She was annoyed and underestimating me, exactly as I'd hoped. I needed some way to beat her though, and some way to overcome her speed long enough to hit her.

Siris sighed dramatically, hefting the sword up until the humongous tip was pointed unwaveringly at my chest. "Guess I'll have to be the one who teaches you some manners then, kid." Cocky, toying with me. Wait for an opportunity, let her have her fun. Don't rush this, Kado.

"What are you going to do about it then," I bluffed, egging the knight on further. I just need to buy time, keep her occupied.

The swordsman gave a beatific smile, tilting her head to the head slightly. "This." She dashed forward in a blur, sword cutting high to low and tracing a long line of fire down the outside edge of my arm, wrist to elbow.

I looked at the other side of my arm and stumbled back, giving out a cry of pain and fear as I did so. The wound honestly wasn't that bad, I'd had worse trying to cook food as a kid. It did have blood seeping from it in a steady stream though, and I reminded myself to patch it up once I was done with this fight.

"What, is it your first time seeing blood?" Siris leaned lazily on her sword, watching me with lidded eyes that barely veiled the disgust within. I looked at her with wide-eyes, taking another step back. My legs didn't hurt as badly anymore, the small amount of magic not being enough to do long-term damage, so I could be ready to go on the offensive in a short time.

The self-proposed delinquent took her weight off her sword, standing up straight and grinning a wide, bloodthirsty grin. "Lucky that I get ta be the one teaching you then." She fell back into a narrow stance, sword held with both hands and turned parallel to her body, left shoulder angled towards me. "Lesson one. The strong beat the weak."

She was gone in a flash, a streak of movement from my right warning me enough to jerk my head back, millimeters away from a sword blade that would have carved a deep cut into my right cheek, just below my eye. She was going for scars, visible but not life-threatening.

The sword disappeared along with Siris for a second before another cut opened up on my back, slicing a hole through my shirt and marking my back with another thin line while I was off balance. Doubling over and ducking low in hopes of avoiding another cut, the bottom of my chin met a thick-soled boot halfway down, flipping me onto my back and impacting hard enough to make me see stars.

When my vision cleared there was a sword blade hanging millimeters over my chest, the point aimed directly at my sternum. "Lesson two, kid." The knight was standing over me, one leg on each side of my thighs and brown eyes staring directly at my own. "If you don't got the moves to back up your fierce words, get _outta my way_."

Giving me another fake smile like she had earlier, Siris asked me, "so what's it gonna be, kid. Either you retire, or I start chopping pieces off." Suiting action to words, the razor-sharp tip still encrusted with small flecks of plaster and blood drifted to the left, hovering over my left arm just below the shoulder.

Not much of a threat, considering I'd get my arm back after being retired from the dimension, but I suppose it's part of her personality. Licking my lips and being careful not to make any sudden moves I opened my mouth, running through what to say that would buy me more time. I was ready to attack now, but I'd let it go on too far and now I was in a bad position.

The sky seemed to darken for a moment before it lit up, a pillar of white light descending from the sky to hit the gymnasium, a sharp crack ringing out like the world was breaking piercing my ears and leaving my eardrums ringing. But Siris was worse off, swiveling her head to look at the source of the sound. I smirked, seeing the distracted state of the knight standing above me. My thanks, Akeno.

"Riser Phenex's three pawns and one rook retire."

Bracing my elbows in the dirt and pulling my legs in to my chest, I kicked both feet out and almost directly upwards, scoring a direct hit on Siris' wrists, a cracking sound ringing out as my tennis shoes met devil skin and won. Siris' sword broke free of her loosened grip and I barely rolled backwards in time to avoid getting my arm completely chopped off as the sword buried itself into the ground.

Siris stumbled back, a grimace on her face as she rubbed her wounded wrists and glared down at me. Getting my no feet beneath me I stood up, reaching out to wrap my right hand around the hilt of the great sword partway between me and her. "Isn't it a knight's rule to never let go of their sword," I taunted, suddenly feeling much better about my odds of beating the girl than I had moments before.

Energy was directed into my wrists and arms, a stream this time, not just a trickle. I'd need a bit more for something like this. The dark-haired girl growled wordlessly, fury in her eyes. Then she was gone in an instant, blurred form breaking away to the right.

I waited for a moment before flexing my enhanced arms, ripping the sword out of the ground and spinning around, arms fully extended and hands gripping the sword tight. The blade whistled through the air before slowing with a sickening sound like sliding a scalpel through a frog in biology class.

The sword came to a stop eventually, the friction of hard devil flesh halting it a few centimeters from exiting out the other side of Siris. The knight looked at me with wide eyes, before coughing up a heavy mouthful of blood that stained the grass beneath her feet. "How… did you?"

Knowing what she was trying to ask I shrugged in false casualness, keeping my gaze fixed on the knight's brown eyes instead of the sword embedded deep into her. "You knights are all so cocky about your speed, figuring that you can attack from behind before anyone can react."

Siris' eyes opened wide in surprise before she bowed her head slightly, a true smile growing on her face. "I will… remember that."

"Riser Phenex's knight has retired." Grayfia's voice rang out from above, heralding my victory as Siris dissolved into blue sparks of light and taking her oversized sword with her, eyes closed in satisfaction. I suppose at the end that was her true personality, not the role forced onto her by Riser.

"She's fine," I mumbled to myself, gaze drawn to the ground in front of me, splatters of red on the dusty ground like red paint flung from a child's fingers. "She's fine, she's healed now. Like it never happened." Her smiling face, eyes closed in calm acceptance. A dark chuckle slipped from my lips. "Well, there are worse faces to have when you die." No, not dead. Alive, still alive.

And I was alive too. I had a job to do and Rias' future was counting on this. There was no room for me to feel sorry for myself, I didn't matter here. I jerked my face up from the stained dirt, forcefully shoving all the emotions I couldn't deal with right now behind steel bars, walling them off until I could deal with them.

Lifting up my right hand, I slipped free another small trickle of mana, this time directing it not to my own body but to the engraved ring squeezed tight around my middle finger. After a moment the ring warmed up to an uncomfortable degree, proof that the connection was active.

Rias' voice emanated from the ring, sounding as clear as if she was directly in front of me. "Yes, Kai-san? What do you have to report?" Her voice sounded slightly strained, as if she was trying to handle several things at the same time and I was adding onto her burden.

"Just reporting that I defeated Siris, Riser's knight, so you don't have to worry about her," I said carefully, trying to speak clearly while paying attention to my surroundings just in case anyone attempted to sneak up on me. "Any change in strategy?"

There was a short silence from Rias, but I could hear a repetitive tapping sound through the ring and got the mental image of Rias, concentrating heavily while tapping her fingers on her desk. "…No," Rias said at last. "Carry on infiltrating the school, relay any vital information you discover to me."

Immediately after Rias said that the ring grew cold once more, the connection closed once again. It wasn't really anything other than I'd expected, but I still felt a faint sense of disappointment that being able to deal with an experienced knight as an unpromoted pawn didn't seem to raise my value in this rating game any.

Well, I had my orders and Rias wouldn't sabotage her own strategy and future just because she didn't think I could handle something. This must still be the best way for me to help, and I'd just have to trust Rias.

"Now," I said out loud, scanning the area one last time for enemies, "where can I get a weapon."

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

After tearing off a sleeve to bandage my arm and deciding that the cut on my back wasn't deep enough to worry about, I'd ended up settling for a shovel, one of the slightly less rusty ones used for gardening work. It wouldn't even injure a devil, but I doubted even Riser wouldn't flinch if a shovel hit him in the face. It was better than nothing at least.

The annoyed pawn trying to bash my face in with her quarterstaff didn't really seem to care though.

"Really?" The blue-haired girl shrieked, face red with what was either embarrassment or anger, bringing her staff down in a two handed blow meant to crack my head open. "Why would you even _do_ something like that! It's a stupid idea that doesn't even work in real life!"

Holding the shovel above my head in a wide two-handed grip I blocked the heavy strike, wincing as the shovel shook, chafing against my hands that were already sore from the fight. Any attacks of my own were batted away by the staff and quickly punished by a sharp tap to my shins or a poke at my chest, keeping me defensive.

"You fell for it though!" I yelled back in response, giving up on any kind of stealth entirely. "It looks like it worked just fine to me!" I'd originally found Mira, the pawn, guarding one of the stairwells up and had tried to pull her into an ambush by dropping a pencil onto the ground and leaving one of my pages from the bible on the ground next to it.

I was honestly surprised that it had worked, the pawn even reading the first line of the page and getting a headache to boot. My surprise attack had been blocked anyway, but as long as I could keep the pawn angry she wouldn't think past trying to hit me with her stick.

Mira's face flushed even redder than before, that combined with her two upright spikes of hair making her look like an ogre from mythology. "That's because I didn't think anyone would be stupid enough to use it!" Turning her embarrassment into strength, her next blow whipped past my pale excuse for a defense and hit my elbow, making the arm tingle and grow slightly numb.

"Then what does that say about you?" I retorted, squeezing my grip tighter on the metal handle of the shovel, refusing to let go and lose my only defense against the blows raining down on me. Mira was much slower than Siris, that was for sure, but I'd still rather not get beaten to death by a blunt object.

"You… You…" Mira finally paused her relentless assault, tucking her elbows in close to her sides and squeezing hard enough on her staff to make the wood let out a faint creaking sound. "You idiot!" The girl finally yelled out, bringing her staff high above her head with faint tears in the corners of her eyes.

This left her entire body open for an attack, something I'm sure the girl would have avoided if she'd been in her right mind. I took immediate advantage though, bringing the shovel back before lunging out with the tip pointed directly at her side, a burst of light in my stomach and arm making the blow that much quicker, that much more powerful for a brief instant.

The two blows hit at the same time, my arms feeling a slight sense of resistance as the quarterstaff cracked against my head. My vision went white for a second and when it came back I was on the floor, the hallway spinning around me while my head ached like an elephant had stepped on it.

I'd lost the shovel at some point after getting hit so I propped a hand beneath me and used the other one to cradle my head while I scanned the area for my impromptu weapon. Mira was still standing, just a few meters away, but her face was pale and she was holding onto her weapon with only one hand, the other cradling her side where I had hit the girl.

The shovel was laying just to the left, apparently cast aside when I fell, but I could see that the bluntly pointed tip was covered with a faint sheen of blood. I had done more damage than I had thought I would, but it wasn't too serious, or the girl would have been forcefully resigned. She seemed to be naive though, so perhaps I could manipulate her into giving up on her own.

"I punctured your kidney," I said confidently, arranging my position so it looked more like I was lounging instead of helpless and prone. "The arbiter won't be able to see internal injuries, so you only have a few minutes before you're in so much pain that you won't be able to move, much less fight."

I could see a faint trickle of blood leaking out below the blue-haired pawn's hand tightly pressed to her side, but she was still standing, her expression switching rapidly between fear, anger, and pained grimaces. "I can still fight!"

Keeping my gaze locked onto the brown eyes of the martial artist pawn, I slowly inched my hand closer to the handle of the shovel nearby. If she didn't believe me, she'd keep attacking and I really didn't want to try blocking that with my arm, devil-enhanced or not. "That's up to you, but the longer you stick around, the more pain you'll be in. Eventually I'd be able to do whatever I wanted to you."

Mira's face went from pale to beet-red within moments, holding up her staff with one hand and pointing it at me with a shaking grip. "Y-You pervert! You'd do something like that in a middle of a battle!"

…Why am I being called a pervert? It was natural to use someone's weakness in battle, especially when you were as weak as I was. I met her eyes and hoped she could see the determination in them. "I would." I was serious. If she was too in pain to actually attack me, I would take advantage in a heartbeat and forcefully resign her from the rating game.

The enemy pawn immediately started stuttering something, shrinking backwards and shifting the arm that was plugging up her wound so it laid over her breasts instead. "Y-You'd even do t-that! And that! And the other thing?"

I had no idea what she was imagining, but it seemed to have her scared so I just went with it. "…Yes." Meanwhile my hand was slowly inching closer to the handle, just millimeters away now. The pawn still hadn't noticed, too focused on whatever was happening in her mind.

At hearing my declaration, it looked like Mira's head imploded, blood rushing to her face so fast that she must not have any left in the rest of her body. "You fiend!" The girl shrieked, just as the tip of her quarterstaff _burst into flames_.

Why didn't anyone tell me she could do that! The girl, by now overcome with rage at whatever she'd imagined I would do, pulled her right hand away from her side to grasp her staff firmly, going for another one of her standard downward attacks. Her arms upraised, I could see an area on her red jacket that was colored darker than the rest, filling me with a sense of guilt.

I was more concerned with the flaming quarterstaff about to be brought down on my head though, my hand finally grasping the smooth metal of the shovel and yanking it over to my position and falling onto my back so I could use my other hand to grasp the end of the shovel close to the blade, holding it high in a block.

The attack came at me in an orange and brown blur, arcing downwards as I was entirely focused on blocking the attack. It hit, impacting directly on the center of the shovel I was holding. The force of the blow bent the metal, the sides slitting open and curling away as the shovel was forced into a right angle. My arms were jerked closer together but I managed to keep my hold on the gardening tool, my grip braced against the wide handle and the blade.

The tip of the wooden staff stopped barely a centimeter from my nose, the fire flaring up for a second before sputtering and going out. Uncrossing my eyes I looked past the weapon and to the girl still holding the other end, now panting heavily as the blood rushed out of her face, diving back into vampire levels of paleness.

Breathing out a breath of relief I forced a relaxed look on my face as I tossed the now-useless shovel to the side, hearing it clatter against the floor as I pushed myself up to a sitting position. "Seems like you're all out of energy now," I calmly observed, slowly getting to my feet and dusting off my pant legs. The calmer I seemed, the more intimidating the girl would see me.

"Now," I said, taking a step towards the girl in what I hoped was a menacing manner, "How about-"

"Iresign!" The girl blurted the words out with a panicked look on her face as she dissolved into blue sparks, recalled by the system.

"Riser Phenex's pawn has retired," the same placid voice of the ninja-maid said, somehow reaching all the way into the school building.

I was still standing after barely taking a step, shocked by the abruptness of the pawn's departure. Huh, I guess I was a lot more intimidating than I'd thought. Feeling a smirk pull at the corner of my lip I ducked into an empty classroom to call Rias, sending another small spark of energy into the ring.

"Yes? Kai-san?" Rias sounded more enthusiastic now, some of the burden lifted off of her shoulders seeing how well the peerage was currently faring in the rating game. Doing a quick mental count in my head, I realized that we had defeated over half of Riser's peerage, with no casualties on our side as of yet. Rias' tactics were working.

"Just reporting in. I defeated Mira, Riser's pawn, and the first floor of the school is clear of any hostiles."

Rias hummed lightly and I could hear the scratching of pencil on paper, probably marking down the information. "I see… Do you have any severe injuries?"

She hadn't asked that last time, but she must have been incredibly busy with the early game at the time. I did a quick check, but nothing seemed to be broken or even strained. My stomach and arm were slightly pained due to the magic I had used earlier and I was covered with bruises including a bump on top of my head, but nothing that would keep my from fighting. "Nope, I'm all good. Any change in strategy?"

I wasn't expecting anything from the question, so I was surprised when Rias answered back immediately. "Yes, actually. Issei's on his way to the school right now, meet up with him at the back door and assist him in getting to the student council room."

Now she was taking me seriously. I snapped off a salute before realizing she couldn't see it and sheepishly lowering my hand. "Got it, Rias. I'll be there shortly." The ring went cold, the connection ended. Ha, I was getting somewhere now! I'd prove I was useful in the end!

Closing the sliding door behind me as quietly as I could, I couldn't help but notice the stairs leading to the upper floor, unguarded and seeming to beckon me. It would take time for Issei to reach the school, and I had time for a quick peek, just to see if there was anyone guarding the next floor.

Seconds later I was creeping up the stairs, taking care to move as quietly as possible. Reaching the landing I carefully peeked around the corner to see nothing on the stairs. Hurrying up the next dozen steps I was on the next floor.

Not a single person was in sight, empty hallways in every direction. So this stairway was clear from possible guards at least. About to turn around and find Issei, my gaze lingered on the stairs going upwards just steps away. …It couldn't hurt, right? I could report that the next _two_ floors were clear to advance upwards, at this stairway at least.

Moving carefully, checking each metal step as I placed my foot on it, I crept around to the next landing, also finding it empty. Winding around the corner I stepped up the next series of stairs with increased confidence. Riser only had about five pieces left, and most of those were tied up with other members of Rias' peerage, so there should be hardly anyone left in the building.

Advancing to the top I did a quick scan just to check for any guards. All the hallways seemed clear and I breathed a small sigh of relief. I'd just realized that if there _was_ a guard, I'd have to fight them by myself, since I doubted they'd just let me leave. Luckily, the area seemed to be deserted.

"Don't you dare ignore me!"

A high-pitched voice rang out from my right and I jumped, barely managing to suppress a shriek from being startled. Had I missed someone? Whirling around and slipping into the combat stance I'd be taught during the training camp, I finally noticed a small girl wearing a pink dress, golden blonde hair in curly ringlets and blue eyes glaring down at me, despite the fact that she only came up to my chest.

Ravel Phenex, and one of the people I'd been told to flee from if I caught sight of her. She had the same healing factor and control over flames as her brother, but she had nowhere near as much power as Riser. Still plenty enough to burn me to a crisp, though.

"…Hi." I offered lamely, already analyzing my options. Defeating Ravel wasn't an option. Her regeneration would ensure I was on the losing end of any battle, even if I was physically stronger than the girl. But running would only lead her towards Issei, who wouldn't be able to defeat her until he had promoted.

The smaller girl cocked an eyebrow arrogantly, not budging from her stern stance. "I refuse to believe that you overlooked me like that! What was your game, ignoring me?"

I was honestly lost for an answer. Was she complaining about me not seeing her when we were supposed to be in a desperate battle for survival? "Well you are short," I finally offered in an apologetic tone, knowing that it would do the exact opposite of calming the arrogant girl down.

Defeating two of the enemies pieces was already more than Rias had expected of me, I could tell that much. I wouldn't be much use elsewhere, but if I could distract Ravel long enough for Issei to sneak by and promote, he would probably be able to defeat the younger girl. And besides, I kinda wanted to go out in a blaze of glory.

Ravel glared even harder, opening her mouth to say something before stopping herself and sighing deeply instead, relaxing her shoulders. "Regardless, I did want to meet you." And I really had been hoping that riling her up would force her into an argument, wasting more time. At least she didn't seem eager to fight just yet.

"You… wanted to meet me?" I asked hesitantly, dropping out of my combat stance. I would have to fight her at some point, but if I seemed willing to talk the Phenex would be less likely to make the first move.

The blonde girl nodded decisively, nudging her chin slightly higher in the air. "Kai Kado. Second year high school student, barely been a devil for a month. You have no sacred gear and no previous combat training that we were able to discover." Ravel took a step forward, absolutely fearless despite being almost a meter shorter than I was. "So how did you defeat Siris-chan and Mira-chan, two experienced fighters with years of training."

Well I certainly wasn't as skilled as they were, that was for sure. I took a moment to think, bending my knees so I was closer to Ravel's height. Mostly because if she thought I was looking down on her it would further rile her up. After a moment I stuck out a thumbs-up and flashed a wide grin. "The will of fire, believe it!"

"As if!" The girl's retort was instantaneous and a small lick of fire actually erupted from her forehead for a second as she yelled, before she regained her composure and calmed down. "The desire to win wouldn't be enough to succeed against the likes of Siris. So how did you manage to defeat her?"

I didn't know why Ravel wanted to know so badly, but she did so I certainly wasn't going to tell her. "First," I said seriously, "tell me why you want to know." If she could bluntly ask me, I figured I could do the same in return.

The small devil's forehead crinkled in thought for a moment before it smoothed, Ravel coming to a decision. "Alright. I had predicted that you would fall early on in the rating game, and am bemused as to how you managed to not only avoid defeat but to win out against obstacles that should have killed you long ago." She looked up at me with stern eyes, like she was daring me to lie to her. "So how did you come so far?"

True, Ravel was the main strategist of the Phenex peerage, even more so than her brother, the king. It made sense that she would have her own strategies in place and want to know where they had gone wrong. Even if it did sting that she had pegged me as a weakling from so early on.

Sighing, I let my shoulders slump as I sunk down onto my heels, propping my wrists on my knees and now looking upwards at Ravel, something that was probably a novelty for the short girl. "I don't think that I did anything too strange. I just fought with everything I had and didn't give up." I shrugged, injecting a hint of casualness into my tone. "I was joking when I said the will of fire earlier, but it's honestly not that far from the truth. I'm fighting for my friends right now."

Ravel gritted her teeth, looking actually angry now, not just prideful. From my low angle, the girl was almost silhouetted by the bright lights embedded into the ceiling, like some kind of drill-haired reaper. "You think we aren't fighting for a reason? You think we're just mindlessly attacking you?"

Shrugging, I smiled blandly. "Well you are attempting to win your brother another member for his _harem_ , and by doing so deprive them of their free will and future." Maybe it was a little harsh phrasing it like that, but if she was fighting as my enemy she should be fully aware of what she was doing.

The Phenex girl's hand came up from her hip and violently poked my chest, forcing me to use my hands to stop my fall as I allowed myself to fall backwards. "You don't get to say that we don't have a reason to fight," Ravel growled, advancing until she was almost standing on my toes, keeping her outstretched finger poised and at the ready. "We're fighting for our king, and even if that isn't as high and mighty as you would like it's still our reason and we're doing our best out there in the field!"

She lowered her face towards my own and I could see my own surprised face in her eyes. "We're giving it all we have, same as you. Don't make us out as the bad guys in this fight, just because it makes it easier for you."

My eyes were wide for a moment before I closed them, smiling lightly. "Yeah, guess so. I'd underestimated you, Ravel Phenex." I really had, seeing her as the "little sister" role, just like Siris was the delinquent. Turns out she was a pretty good little sister outside of the crazy harem scheme as well.

Opening my eyes I saw that Ravel had leaned back and was once again looking down at me with a haughty expression on her face. "Hope you don't mind us still being enemies though, Ravel-chan." Grinning up at Ravel, I felt like I really could become friends with her in time.

Ravel matched my smile. "I wouldn't have it any other way, Kado-kun." For a moment, still highlighted by the fluorescent lights that made her hair look like it was glowing, Ravel looked like an angel instead of a devil.

Leaning back onto my hands I lifted up my legs and surged forward with a double kick that Ravel danced away from, sliding out of range with a grace that wouldn't have looked out of place in an ice rink.

Using the momentum I pushed of the floor and landed on my feet, staggering slightly but returning to my previous combat stance with a practiced ease that came from having been knocked down far too many times while training.

Simultaneously, Ravel ignited her hands, each fist burning with bright orange flames that licked at her hands and clothes without seeming to burn. Somehow I doubted they'd be so kind to me.

Feeling reckless, I motioned for Ravel to attack me, to which she responded by an elaborate curtsy, her head not bowing a centimeter in a motion that clearly meant "after you."

We attacked at the same time. Ravel lunging forward with a fist to my face that I ducked, aiming a punch at the girl's arm and to throw her off balance, which was easily dodged. A blow laced with hungry flames darted past my side, leaving black scorch marks on my white shirt before darting back as a side kick bought me some range.

I took the moment of respite to catalog what I'd just discovered. Ravel primarily used her hands to fight, her feet staying rooted on the ground except for when she changed position, quickly leaping back and forth. She was focused and knew her own limits, but wasn't as experienced as Mira had been.

She was more trained than I was, but her lack of footwork gave me a slight edge, as did my greater height. We were pretty evenly matched. I'd never enjoyed fighting before, either finding it a chore or a pain, depending on who I was fighting against. But this time, I could feel a faint pull at my lips, the thrill of the fight. Somehow, this was exactly what I needed.

Darting back in, body low to the ground like I had done so many times with Akeno I crossed the few steps quickly, lunging upwards in a punch that followed into a side kick. Both hit only air, Ravel having crouched low at the same time that I had shot upwards, and exposed as I was it was simple for her to grab my leg and pull, yanking me towards her even as she held out a palm of fire on a direct course for my chest.

I could feel the skin on my leg begin to burn and I gritted my teeth, going with the tugging motion to punch downwards, forcing Ravel to deflect the fist with her palm instead of burning my chest. At the same time I grabbed Ravel's arm with my other hand and used my last limb, the foot left on the floor to deliver a kick to Ravel's side.

The fire-wielding girl grunted in pain, recognizing the current stalemate and releasing my leg, allowing me to hop backwards and regain my balance. Now I had a burned leg and a burned wrist where my attack had been blocked, while Ravel had taken barely any damage. Not a good sign so far.

My style of combat was much more adaptive than Ravel's more rigid style, but I couldn't use it to it's fullest in an open area like this. So without taking my eyes off Ravel I darted to the left towards the third-year English classroom I had noted when I first reached this floor.

Ravel followed close behind, eyes flicking past me to check for any traps but seemed willing to let me flee. Pausing in front of the door, I took an instant to reach behind me for the handle, hoping to jerk it open before Ravel took the opportunity to attack. I found the handle easily enough, but it refused to budge. It was locked.

Ravel's answer to my accusing glare was a smirk and an arrogant tilt of her head. "I had some spare time while I was waiting for a fly to land in my trap." So now I had something to my back, keeping my from retreating.

Or so she thought. Smirking, I quirked an eyebrow at the girl, acknowledgment for her foresight as I used my left leg to kick backwards at the door, a small bit of magic enough to let the door jump it's track and fall to the ground behind me with a clatter.

I couldn't help but laugh at Ravel's pouting face as I jumped backwards and into the room. It was filled with chairs as additional obstacles but there didn't seem to be much else besides some supply lockers. No easily visible weapon, at least. There were windows on the far side of the classroom though, something that gave me an idea.

Ravel followed into the room, daintily stepping over the fallen door and wrinkling her nose at the most likely "plebeian" decoration to someone from a noble family like her. "Why would you want to come into here?" She asked disdainfully. "It's just locking yourself into a smaller space."

"If you really think that," I said with a grin, "You won't mind coming at me to prove it."

The pampered girl rolled her eyes but darted in, heading for my form and telegraphing a wide punch to my chest. Which meant it was probably a feint, made to lead away from some other kind of attack.

Either way, I simply avoided it by leaping up onto an adjacent desk with a single bound, landing in a crouch. Incidentally this let me dodge the thin burst of fire that erupted from Ravel's hand and hit where I had been a moment before.

Straightening up I lashed out in a kick that was blocked by Ravel's arm but pushed the girl back a step. I kept up with a repeated course of kicks, using my heightened position to my advantage and easily dodging any of the shorter ranged attacks that Ravel sent.

Growling in frustration, Ravel sent another burst of fire towards me, forcing me to leap back to another desk or risk getting burned. Seeing that her new strategy was working, Ravel kept up the assault, keeping me on the back foot as I leaped from desk to desk, barely evading each tongue of flame.

Once I got deep enough into the sea of chairs and desks, Ravel was forced to either follow me down the aisles and possibly trap herself or follow me onto the desk-tops, putting us on more equal footing. Ravel chose the latter option, keeping balance as she followed me in our little dance.

Intent on putting an end to my constant evasion, Ravel sent a wave of flame out with a wave of her hand, sending an entire row of desks on fire and blocking off one route of escape unless I wanted to land in the middle of an element that the Phenex was known for controlling.

I'd been keeping an eye on our position in the room and had been leading Ravel on a pretty chase, resulting in the girl being exactly where I wanted her. She was consumed in lighting further parts of the room on fire, further reducing my movements. But she was standing on the last row of desks next to the windows, the light from the blank sky above shining through and framing the girl once more.

Mentally judging the size of the window, I figured it would be a large enough fit. "Hey, Ravel-chan?"

Ravel cast me a glare from where she was diligently setting the ceiling on fire, just in case I tried to jump too high. "Yes, Kado-kun? What is it?" Her tone was deceptively sweet, not doing a thing to hide just how annoyed she was with me right now.

I smiled, perfectly guileless. "Duck."

"Wha-"

Lunging forward I aimed low and curled my arms around Ravel's body, trapping her arms against her sides and carrying forward, taking both of us into and through the glass window that had been behind Ravel. Her head must have hit the top of the windowsill since I heard a sickening sound of flesh hitting stone as we carried through, the shattered glass sparkling in the light.

Ravel had taken most of the damage from going through the window, but several cuts had opened up on my arms as I went through, those being the widest parts and the glass not being pushed away enough from the force.

But then we were falling, Ravel limp in my arms as we quickly descended. I fought to keep my eyes open against the rushing wind, wrestling with Ravel's body to force it beneath my own, hoping to cushion the impact with her form.

Then we hit and it felt like I had just been doused in a vat full of acid, every part of my body stinging, but I couldn't feel anything broken. My head felt woozy but I managed to unwrap my arms from around Ravel and push my body up off of hers, kneeling just to the side.

Ravel had taken the fall harder than I had, I was sure, but she was still breathing, chest rising and falling in a steady if slow rhythm. But more telling were the pale yellow flames licking at the back of Ravel's head, healing the injury from our escape from the top floor.

She hadn't been retired yet. It wasn't enough. I had to go farther. Slowly, I reached forward and cradled Ravel's head lifting in from the ground in a tender grip. At the same time I opened a crack in my soul and guided a strand of magic down to my hands and arms.

The yellow flames died away and Ravel's brow crinkled, her eyes beginning to open. "How-"

Biting my lip, I activated the magic in my arms, and as they burst into light, forcefully threw Ravel's head back down onto the ground. There was a crack as Ravel's eyes rolled back in her head.

I stayed still for a moment, hands beginning to shake. Was that enough? Would I have to go farther?

Yellow flames began licking at the back of the Phenex's scalp and I gritted my teeth, forcing back the bile in my throat as I once again grasped Ravel's head and brought it down onto the ground.

Again and again, not waiting for the telltale flames before repeating the process. I knew there was only one way this would end but my hands continued through with their work, as if they were a separate part of my body. Each crack of skull against ground tearing a hole somewhere inside of me.

Over and over and _over_ , until I couldn't see straight through blurry vision, until my hands felt wet and sticky, until something inside me screamed and cracked and I _kept going_.

Then the yellow flames went out and didn't come back.

"Riser Phenex's bishop has… retired." The permanently calm voice seemed shaken, a frozen lake finally breaking.

My hands were shaking, not just from the cramping and snapping muscles, and my vision was as if I was looking through a screen of static, blocking out everything but the deep color that covered my hands like rain, dragging me down into the depths.

She was alive. I kept repeating that to myself as the body in front of me slowly dissolved into blue sparks, leaving nothing left but the… liquid covering the ground and me.

My chest started to ache as my thoughts whirled around, going nowhere, but I didn't dare to touch it, didn't dare to take my eyes off my hands as if they might attack someone else if I looked away.

I don't know how long I kneeled there, the world unfocused and nothing real except the hatred and self-loathing inside my own head. Eventually, something broke through. Issei. I had to go meet Issei. We were still fighting. We hadn't won yet.

Running on autopilot I forced everything I didn't want to think about, the guilt, the hatred, the memories, all shoved inside the mental box, never to be thought about again. Ravel was fine. She was unhurt. But I had blood on my hands, and would never be able to wipe it clean.

My head finally feeling clearer, I stood up, wincing as my knees ached. How long had I been kneeling there? Or maybe it was from my improvised landing, only partially absorbed by Ravel's body.

I began staggering around the building to the back door, bracing myself against the wall with one hand, dragging myself forward step by step, leaving a red trail behind me as my hand was scraped free of blood.

By the time I reached the back door of the school, I was almost fully recovered, my actions of just a few minutes ago seeming like a distant dream. But the dark red stains on my legs and the marks on my hands were undeniable proof.

Surprisingly, Issei wasn't waiting at the back door like I had thought he would be, instead nothing to be seen besides the shattered remains of the gymnasium and the craters blown in the hard dirt from Yubelluna's first attack on me as I dashed to the school.

Which brings to mind, where is Yubelluna now? The plan was for Akeno to engage her and keep her occupied, but I hadn't heard an announcement that either of them had been defeated yet. Perhaps they were still at an impasse, neither queen able to defeat the other.

Turning away from the carnage that seemed like I'd lived through so long ago, I headed into the school building, carefully picking through the plaster and wood fragments from my first real battle. Poking my head out into the open area I glanced around at the three hallways branching off into the front, left, and right wings of the school. Still no sign of Issei.

Just as I was beginning to wonder what had happened to the pawn, if he had been captured by the enemy or had somehow gotten lost inside his own school, Issei appeared in the right hallway. The brown-haired boy was clearly running, his devil speed pushing him to the level of a practiced athlete runner.

He slid up next to me, backpedaling slightly to not fall over with the speed of his stop, giving me an annoyed look as his activated gauntlet declared "Reset!" in a loud voice. "Where were you, Kado-san? Buchou said you'd be waiting for me?"

Apparently he hadn't noticed the blood covering me yet, since he hadn't recoiled in horror. A sudden surge of guilt pushed me to twist my palms away from Issei, trying to subtly tuck them behind my back. "Sorry, I wanted to do some scouting and got caught up in something." It wasn't a lie, but just speaking to Issei seemed to make my stomach churn.

Issei immediately switched from anger to concern just like my mother, craning his head around to spot any kind of injury on me. "It wasn't an enemy, was it? You didn't get hurt, did you?"

Squeezing my fingers into my palms I smiled at Issei, touched by his concern. "No, I-" (Blank eyes head oozing red on gold) "-didn't get hurt at all. It was nothing." Please, _please_ stop asking.

Giving me one last considering look, Issei turned back into his usual jovial persona like a switch had been flipped. "Alright then! You probably just got lost, didn't you!" Thank you, Issei.

Rolling my eyes, I tried to get back onto topic. "My little adventure wasn't totally useless, though. If we use the right stairwell, there shouldn't be any guards up until at all, it's completely open." At least it was now.

Instead of the gratitude I will confess to expecting, Issei's face morphed into an expression of terror, as if he had just heard that Kuoh Academy had become an all-male school. "Oh Maou I just remembered! That's why I was looking for you?" What was wrong? Did he find an enemy piece and get chased all the way back here?

"We can't promote!"

My breath caught in my chest and I had to swallow before I could speak. "What do you mean? You… we need to promote!" Was there someone guarding the room? Was there a trap?

Issei shook his head, frantic. "I can't! The Student Council is destroyed! There's nothing there but a big hole! That was their territory, and if it's gone we can't promote!"

Destroyed? A big hole? My first thought was that Sona was going to _murder_ Riser. My second through tenth thoughts were running through what must have happened. It made sense, honestly. Pick a location that's far away, destroy it so enemies can't promote, and then use it as bait and use guards to attack any pawns who try to take advantage.

"That's genius," I breathed out softly, before snapping back to the present. This was bad. "Have you contacted Rias yes?" We were counting on the queen promotion being enough to let Issei overpower Riser, and without it we might not have a chance. I knew it was possible to defeat a Phenex, but it would mean killing Riser hundreds of times to run his magical supply down.

Issei shook his head, a serious expression on his face as he lifted the ring up to his face without a moment's hesitation. "Buchou? We've got a problem!" There was a moment of silence. Then another one. "Buchou? Buchou?" A tense feeling grew inside of me as the silence continued and I could see Issei getting worried as well, his gauntleted hand clenching and unclenching in a sound of scraping metal.

There was no response. Issei slowly lowered his his hand from his face, a look of fury on his face. "It must be Riser," he said without pause, a fire burning in his eyes, the movements of his left fist increasing in speed. "He took Rias. And Asia was with her."

I wanted to tell Issei not to jump to conclusions but I couldn't argue with him. "Since we were winning so badly," I said out loud, "he must have interfered directly, going straight to where Rias was."

Issei barked out a laugh, a harsh, cold thing. "You call this winning? We're barely surviving right now, even without Riser to deal with."

Surprised at the tone of Issei's voice I almost took a step back, suddenly seeing a stranger in front of me instead of the good-natured, perverted boy I had come to call my friend. Then I blinked and Issei was back, just very, very angry. "But I thought nobody from the peerage had retired yet?"

Now it was Issei's turn to Seem taken aback. "What do you mean?" he asked. "Didn't you hear?" I could feel a slow dread start to seep into me at Issei's next words. "Koneko-chan, Pretty Boy, and Himejima-senpai were all retired in the last ten minutes!"

My blood ran cold. How had I missed that? But if that was true, then we were the last fighters on Rias' peerage. And without promoting, I was barely as strong as one of Riser's pieces. Issei could put up a better fight than I could, but it still wouldn't be enough against Riser.

Then I remembered watching Rias train, pushing herself to the point of exhaustion to refine her volatile energy for this fight. She was fighting for her freedom, and still would be. "Come on," I told Issei, brain churning through possibilities before settling on one. "Riser's on the rooftop. We've got one chance at this."

Issei just nodded, not even doubting me for a second. "Good luck, Kado." His eyes were set, chips of stone in a face of flint. I had no doubt that Issei would do everything he could for Rias.

I nodded in return, shoving the last of my doubts and qualms deep inside. "Show them what a dragon can do, Issei."

Then Issei was gone, his gauntlet declaring a boost as he dashed away and was out of sight within seconds. I followed after, not daring to use any magic to increase my speed. Issei would be able to hold Riser off for a short time at least and I would be no use handicapped.

Even though I knew I was a devil, for the first time in my life I felt an urge to pray.

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

When I finally made it to the top of the stairs the sudden sunlight temporarily blinded me, leaving my vision blurry until I had blinked it out of my eyes. Once my vision cleared I could see Riser standing at the far end of the rooftop, surrounded by a corona of flames that seemed to intertwine and snap like snakes. Issei was avoiding the tendrils of fire and I could see his speed visibly increase as he boosted, increasing in speed. But he seemed to just barely avoid each hungry flame, not gaining any ground towards Riser.

Farther back, halfway between Riser and where I was standing, Rias was lying weakly on the ground, the entire left arm of her school uniform burnt away and a bright red burn covering the limb.

Asia was kneeling next to her king, forcing energy through shaking hands to heal the roasted arm. It was clear that both girls were completely exhausted, Rias not even able to stand up while the green glow that denoted _Twilight Healing_ 's power was beginning to flicker, Asia's bishop-enhanced reserves beginning to run low. How long had she already been healing Rias?

I took a step forward, but hesitated, seeing no way that my interference could improve the situation. The battle currently taking place was far above my level, Issei a black and red blur now even as he began to slowly gain ground, working his way towards the irate Phenex as he yelled something I couldn't hear over the rushing of flames.

Choking on my indecision, all I could do was stand still, intently watching the battle between Issei and Riser. This was nothing like the perverted Issei who would loudly discuss the appeal of various ladies in the school. His eyes were red and angry, his teeth bared in either a grin or a snarl as he was leaped backwards to avoid a wave of orange fire.

I turned my attention to Riser, who hadn't budged in all the time I'd been here, standing with his arms folded and a confident smirk on his face like nothing could touch him. And then he turned his head, just enough to catch my eye in the corner of his gaze.

Flame erupted from Riser's back, leaving his red suit untouched as two thick strands of flame stretched out, gaining shape and definition until they were in the shape of angel wings, raised towards the sky.

Then they crashed downwards, a single flap of the feathered fire creating a giant sphere of flame that engulfed both fighters, the heat so severe that I could easily feel it from where I was standing, a stinging sensation across my face.

In an instant I was filled with absolute certainty. That's going to kill Issei.

My feet were already propelling me forward as I registered the dual screams of fear that came from Asia and Rias, fear that their friend had died in front of them. I knew that Issei would be fine, he would be returned to a state of perfect health, but in that moment I didn't care. So what if he would be fine, that arrogant chicken had just attacked my friend and I was going make him pay!

I reached into my chest and tore the core open, releasing a wave of magic many times greater than the small amounts I had been using previously, channeling it into my already damaged arms and hands as well as my legs. Who cared that this guy was immortal, I just needed to be a distraction long enough for Issei to recover.

My flight across the roof was only a few seconds, each step impacting with the force of a bullet as I shot past Asia and Rias, the blonde girl collapsed onto her knees. In front of me was a friend in danger, a tornado of flames, and a jerk who was about to be missing a few teeth.

Just before I reached the hemisphere of flame it dissipated, the fire fading into the air like bubbles popping in a strong wind. Riser was standing as placid as ever, his suit not even scorched. Issei stood ahead of Riser, on his knees with with a fist planted into the concrete of the roof as if it was sand, clothes in tatters but with a shimmering scale-like pattern of blue energy overlayed on his skin.

His face was red, eyes furious, but he was alive.

Uncaring that his greatest threat was in front of him, Riser slowly rotated to face me, a smirk on his face. "I believe you and I have some unfinished business, _brat_." His voice was filled with venom, his eyes shining with hatred.

As if just remembering where I was I put up my hands, still feeling the magic thrumming through my veins, lighting me up like a million fires. Now was the time! "Riaaaahhh!" I shouted, pushing myself forward, arm cocked back, the magical energy forming a light blue corona around the fist.

Riser stood there, uncaring with the same arrogant look on his face. I swung, intent on crushing in Riser's nose. Then an image of blank eyes, blonde hair, and bloody hands flashed in my mind and I jerked backwards, grinding to a stop millimeters away from Riser. I was breathing heavily, eyes unfocused.

"How unfortunate," Riser said out loud, shaking his head with a sad look on his face. "A coward as well as a fool. At least you know your place." Drawing back his leg, Riser kicked out viciously. I saw it coming but was too slow to respond and the tip of Riser's red leather shoes dug into my stomach, throwing me back onto the concrete as I felt something inside me rupture.

I could hear a roar of rage from Issei and Rias' concerned voice, but I didn't move. It wasn't that I was too badly hurt, I just… couldn't. My eyes stared blankly ahead for a moment, unable to shake the memory of kneeling over Ravel's corpse.

No, she was alive. _She was alive_ , you idiot! I sucked in a heaving breath regardless of the piercing pain in my stomach and rolled onto my side, putting a hand on the ground and stumbling to my feet. Issei was fighting Riser again but he seemed visibly exhausted now, the repeated use of the boosted gear taking it's toll on him.

The magic in my legs and arms was waning, but I still had some left. I took one step, then another, then I was running forward, ready to take a swing at Riser. This time I didn't stop partway through. My clenched fist hit Riser straight on the cheek, blasting the arrogant devil a few meters across the roof, his body skipping once, twice on the concrete before stopping, Riser staggering to his feet, his suit finally damaged.

Riser looked angry now, his jaw and part of his face hanging limp, clearly broken. Blood leaked from a cut on the side of his head. Yellow flames licked at the wound for a second and the blood was gone, Riser's jaw snapping back into place with a dull crack. "How dare you touch me," Riser seethed, flames springing up around him once more. "I'll kill you all!"

Then Issei was there, his left gauntleted fist burying itself deep into Riser's stomach, doubling the devil over and blasting him straight up into the air. This time Riser was more prepared, expanding his flame wings to halt his fall, leaving him hovering in midair, Issei yelling for him to come back down and fight like a devil.

Riser snarled, entirely fed up with being on the back foot. "You want me to fight like a devil?" he asked, gathering a large mass of flames into his hands. "Fine! I'll fight like a devil!"

And with a deceptively light toss, the ball of fire expanded into a roaring cone of flame, burning through the air on a direct course towards Asia and Rias, still on the roof behind me.

Without any time to think I was spinning on one foot, chasing the flames to Rias and Asia. I could feel the power beginning to flicker, already strained with how much magic was forced into my limbs. I gritted my teeth and clamped down on the glow, flaring it as bright as I could. Just a few more seconds, that's all I needed.

The world was a blur for an instant and then I was standing above the two girls, staring down at their shocked expressions with my arms spread wide. There was no time to pull them somewhere safe, or even push them out of the way. All I could do was hope that this would protect them enough.

The fire hit and I arched my back, mouth open in a silent scream as I felt my flesh burn and melt, my arms twitching to pull back into the shelter of my chest as the fire curled around them. But I resisted, holding them outwards with as much strength as I had. Rias and Asia _would not die!_

Then it was over, cold air that was both soothing and painful struck my back and I staggered, taking a single step forward before falling onto a knee, arms still out wide. I let them fall to my sides and closed my eyes, a smile on my face. I had protected them.

Cool hands touched my shoulders and a voice cried out, saying something I couldn't make out. I felt a blissful numbing on my back, around the middle of my spine and realized that Asia was trying to heal me, using up the last of her energy. I wanted to resist, speak up and not force the young girl to endure any more trauma, but I was already fading, my consciousness growing dim despite the pain I felt.

Rias' voice, breaking through the haze. "I resign!"

...What?

"Rias Gremory's pawn has retired."

* * *

End AN: I am _evil_. Completely irredeemably evil. This? _This is the tip of the iceberg._

I took some liberties with the characters, partially because I was actually able to write this Siris while the slightly more canon-compliant one had no character with how I wrote them the first time. The rest of it is because I don't actually know Ravel's character very well, although I tried to keep it realistic.

I also changed a few things with the rating game system to make it more like a sport, with devil referees that pulled out players if they got hurt too bad and slightly changing the communication method for reasons that were shown at the end of the chapter.

And for everyone who wanted to see Kado being awesome and showing his worth, I hope this satisfied that urge! Part of the difficulty of this chapter was trying to reach a balance for Kado's skill, experience, and power. He _is_ still only a month-old devil, but with his reckless tendencies, body amplification technique, and cunning, I figured he could pull it off.

Related to that though, I've had it planned for a long time that Kado takes out Ravel. A Phenex, someone that is believed to be immortal, resigned by pure force and repetition by a low-ranked devil. That's something that's going to stir up a hornets nest or hundred in the underworld.

Plus evil stuff that happens later.

Now, next chapter isn't written yet so I don't know how that'll impact quality, but it should involve some of the repercussions from this rating game.

Hope to see you all there!


	16. Riser Sees You and Raises By Three

Warnings: Off-screen Character Death, Minor Character Death, Mentions of Attempted Suicide, Mention of Accidental Murder (Manslaughter?), Maiming, Burning to Death, Accidental/Intentional Self-Harm, yeah I switched this fic to M, and also still no swearing!

Disclaimer: Yeah, I really can't touch things without seriously messing them up. I don't own Highschool DxD, or it never would have gotten published in the first place.

* * *

The canopy above me was a rich purple that practically screamed luxury, just in case the soft mattress beneath me wasn't enough to clue me in. The room itself was only dimly lit by a light source hanging from the ceiling. Knowing Rias, it was probably a chandelier.

Faint rustling sounded from the chair next to my bed, small hands nervously gripping and releasing a nun's habit.

Judging by the choice in decor and the bed beneath me, I was back in the real world, recuperating after the disastrous rating game. I wasn't injured, so that meant I must have fallen unconscious after taking Riser's last attack and then didn't wake up after being retired.

Right after hearing Rias resign out of a foolish desire to protect me. And it was _my fault_.

Trying to distract myself wasn't doing any good. Counting how many bumps I could feel beneath me or what shadows seemed to be in the gloom wasn't pulling my attention from the roiling ball of self-loathing in my gut.

I'd been played like a rat to the pied piper's tune. I had gone and done exactly what Riser wanted. He had defeated Issei, forced Rias to resign, and even gotten his personal revenge on me, all with one expert stroke.

That was the only reason Rias would still be alive instead of being forcefully resigned by death before we even got there. She had been used like bait, luring the rest in. Were the pieces I had defeated even fighting me at full power, or was I just being led along? Were my actions (red on gold) for nothing?

"Umm, Kai-san?" Asia spoke up quietly, her whisper clearly audible. She had tried talking to me before, but I had ignored her, simply not wanting to acknowledge the pity that was sure to be in her eyes. I just kept running instead. Like always. But I couldn't put it off forever. Just had to rip it off like a band-aid.

"Yeah, Asia?" My voice was equally quiet and slightly raspy, dryness tickling the back of my throat.

The nun started at the response, clearly not expecting anything after having been ignored previously. Her voice came out slightly high-pitched and faster than usual. "Oh, sorry. Umm, I just wanted to let you know that you're all healed and-"

Her mouth snapped shut with an audible sound as Asia gulped before speaking again. "I-I mean you're okay, you're not hurt or anything, and we're all okay too, umm, but not really Rias, she…"

I let the stammered words flow over me, not fully hearing them. At least she was talking to me now, even if what it took was me dying and Rias being virtually sold into slavery. The thought was followed with another burst of self-loathing, that I could be glad for something that must be incredibly hard for Asia.

My mind finally realized that Asia had stopped talking, the silence more comforting than the bland unmotivated condolences of how much I'd helped. I laid there and just looked up at the purple canopy above for a moment, too miserable to really care.

Then I heard a faint sniffle coming from the chair beside the bed.

Sitting up as quickly as possible, my first thought was of how I could make her stop. Why was she crying, what did I do? The young nun was staring down at her hands, tight-fisted and gripping her habit, soft tears dripping down her face and onto her clenched hands.

Oh gods oh gods I was bad at this stuff. "Nono, please don't cry, I'll fix it or whatever, just please be happy?" You were supposed to hug crying girls, right? But I was sure that would just make it worse. All I could do was try to tell her it would be all right and maybe Issei could help, just feeling useless the whole time.

Asia shook her head slowly, long blonde locks swaying like a weeping willow's branches. She hiccuped twice, taking in a heaving breath before wailing "I-I'm _so sorry_ , Kai-san!"

I was taken aback, pausing in my poor attempts at giving comfort. What did _she_ have to be sorry for? I was the one who had led Issei and myself directly into a trap, yanking him with me down the gullet of the beast. Asia was the one who had held on through everything, using up the last of her energy to keep her king alive and fighting.

" _I_ _'m_ the one who should apologize, Asia," I said sorrowfully, finally working up either the courage or the recklessness to lightly place a hand on her head. The younger girl flinched, but didn't break away or stop crying. "Really," I pleaded with her, "I'm the one who messed up, you have nothing to be sorry for."

But she just shook her head again, the strands of hair moving and sliding beneath my gentle touch. "I-It's not about t-that," she hiccuped, head bowing down further.

Pulling back slightly, I frowned in confusion. What could have happened to make Asia this upset besides the rating game? Had Issei broken up with her or something?

I briefly noticed the nun's grip on her dress tightening for a moment before her head jerked up, indirectly knocking my hand off, and Asia made actual eye contact with me for the first time in a month. Her cheeks were blotchy, her eyes large and wet, fresh tears running in rivulets down the trails of their predecessors.

"I'm sorry because… because… _because_ _someone has to be!_ " the young devil almost-yelled, not stuttering once as she made her pain-filled declaration. I was taken aback by the sheer amount of guilt that was in her eyes, an ocean of doubt and remorse that threatened to drown the girl.

Then she was out of the chair and running towards the door, pulling the door shut behind her before I could say more than a slightly strangled "Wait!" As the wooden construct closed, I lowered my arm, barely realizing I had raised it, my gaze drifting over to the side of the bed where the nun's headpiece lay abandoned in her hurry.

What could the girl have done to cause herself to feel that much guilt? If she was left alone, I wasn't sure what she might do to try and ease that hollow feeling, like a beast within, ripping and tearing pieces of yourself away. I threw my legs over the side of the bed and headed for the door, grabbing the white headpiece on my way.

Opening the door with a sharp yank, I was met by the surprised visage of Issei, hand lifted to open the door on his own side. The shock died down almost instantly, replaced with anger. I interrupted him before he could speak though, shoving the headgear into his hands. "Your girlfriend's crying somewhere, are you going to yell at me or are you going to go cheer her up?"

Issei only hesitated for a moment before shooting me one last glare and pivoting on his heel to run after Asia. I breathed out a slow sigh as he left, knowing that he'd probably confront me about making his girlfriend cry later. Forcibly straightening my shoulders I took a deep breath and moved on. I had to go apologize to Rias, and it would be best to do it now.

The walk was quiet and seemed like it took at least three times longer than it should have, each step echoing around the rooms or halls as I navigated back to the central room. In front of me was the same door, the tiny smear of blood on the left side and the slightly dented handle from where someone had been rushed opening it.

I didn't allow myself a single second of pause before lifting my hand up and knocking on the door. This was my fault and I had no right to feel hesitation. My knuckles had barely brushed the wood for a second tap when the door swung open so fast I had a moment of panic that it would hit whoever was opening it on the other side.

No such thing and instead the widening aperture revealed a tall stranger, broad enough to block my vision of the rest of the room with a deep black cloak framing his body like the curtains of a theater and held together by a small red gemstone that seemed to shift slightly as I looked at it. The man had hair so red that he _had_ to be a member of Rias' family that trailed to the back of his neck, two long bangs dangling down to his breastbone and accentuating the man's admittedly handsome features.

Although probably the most defining feature was the excited gleam in his blue eyes and open-mouthed grin that immediately fell into a look of abject despair as his entire body slumped at the sight of me. "Oh," he said dejectedly, not even bothering to introduce himself. "I thought that you might be the Red Dragon Emperor, I've been hoping to meet him for a long time."

Someone wanted to find _Issei?_ And they didn't want to beat him up for something? Well that was certainly a new one. Still, I didn't want a stranger to be around for this, no matter if he was a member of Rias' family or not. I stepped to the side as casually as I could and pointed down the corridor in the way I had come. "I just barely saw him go that way. I think he was looking for a restroom."

Upon hearing my lie the man immediately lit up again, evacuating the doorway and almost skipping down the hall without a single word of goodbye. I held in place for a moment though, casting a look of suspicion at the back of the man's flaring black cloak. I thought I had seen a glint of dark intelligence for a moment, something that completely defied the man's excited demeanor.

He certainly wasn't the fool that he seemed to be. I'd need to keep an eye on him if I ever saw him again. For now though, I had bigger problems than Issei's biggest fan. Squaring my shoulders I looked directly into the same main clubroom, lit by flickering candles and half-operational lightbulbs same as always, but somehow the tone was much gloomier than usual.

Akeno and Kiba were seated on the two couches, each remaining in their clothes from the battle, tattered and singed in places but still mostly workable. There was no sign of Koneko, but Rias was seated behind her large desk, slumped in her leather chair with heated cheeks and a blank look on her face. I had seen those kind of eyes only once before.

And I would never let that happen again. I stalked into the room, passing by Kiba and Akeno and ignoring their looks of curiosity and disappointment. They weren't the main concern at the moment. I planted my feet in front of the desk and held my arms behind my back in parade rest waiting for Rias to acknowledge me.

It didn't take as long as I had thought it might, Rias only taking a moment before noticing my presence in front of her and looking up with dull red-rimmed eyes that contrasted with her usual blue iris. All that Rias could see in her future was her past coming back to haunt her.

Sure that I had the king's attention, I bowed deeply, as low as I could go. "I'm sorry." That was all I could say, the rest of the words I wanted to say choking in my throat and squeezing my heart like a vice. No apology could fix my mistake.

There was a moment of pause before Rias sighed deeply. "Raise your head, Kado-san," she said, and I obeyed, looking up to see Rias looking at me with a sad smile, "It wasn't your fault, Kado-san. I was unprepared to fight Riser."

It wasn't your fault.

I'd heard that before. Kioko whispering into my ear as I looked at dried blood on the pavement. My own whispered words in the dark as I woke up in the middle of the night, visions of lightning and crab legs in my mind.

 _It_ _'s all your fault!_

A fierce anger burst to life inside of me, like gasoline poured on a flame. What right did she have to say that! _To forgive me?_ I barely even felt it as my fingernails dug into the skin of my palm, instinctively channeled magic lighting up my fingers and piercing even my devil flesh.

"If I may say," I said, the words tumbling out of my mouth before I realized I had thought them, "What in _Dante_ _'s seven hells_ were you thinking when you resigned!" My hands slammed down on the thick wood desk with a bang and I felt more than saw Akeno and Kiba spring to their feet behind me, ready to defend their master.

My attention was focused squarely on Rias though, who jerked at the sudden noise but had barely reacted to my words themselves. I was inexplicably furious and couldn't resist taking it out on the person right in front of me. "You don't get to resign like that and just force us to give up with you!"

Rias blinked, responding in the same gentle voice she had forgiven me in. "There was no chance we could win against Riser. I couldn't keep watching you and Issei fight for nothing."

I gritted my teeth, angry at how calm she was, how it seemed like I was the only one who got this. "So what! We're your peerage! We knew we could be hurt when we fought for you. We went into that battle knowing we would give everything we had, we would _die_ for you!"

For the first time since I had entered the room, Rias showed emotion, a spark of anger in her own eyes, replacing the blankness. "Well what if I don't _want_ you to die for me! I refuse to allow any of my peerage to die, even if they choose to uselessly throw themselves against a Phenex!"

"That's not your choice to make!" I roared out, leaning further forward until I was close enough to see my own face reflected in Rias' eyes. "You are our king. We are your pieces." I had to fight to lower my voice, speaking in a harsh tone that was still backed by my sudden fury. "You lead, and we will follow. You flee, and we will stand and fight to our last breath."

"I refuse to accept-"

Rocking back I barely held myself back from burying a magic-laden fist into the desk. She just wasn't getting the point! "It's a game!" I yelled, more at the ceiling than at Rias herself, before my gaze shot back down and pinned her own blue eyes in my brown ones. "It's a game, and you announced checkmate before all your pieces were defeated."

Rias cocked one eyebrow, regaining some of her aristocratic sarcasm. "Except that I had two pawns and a bishop remaining and the opposing king is immortal-"

"Don't look too far into the analogy." I paused and viciously swept a hand across my hair, resisting the urge to pace and instead glaring down at my hand, the hand I could still remember hitting Riser's cheek. "Besides, he's not immortal, just very hard to kill."

"And the difference is?"

Biting my cheek I clenched my fist tight, still not looking at Rias. "That we have a chance. The rating game's over, gone. But still have ways to beat this." I had killed one Phenex before. I might have to do the same again. If there was some way to rig a fight with Riser and keep pummeling him until his magic ran out, he would have to give up or risk his own life. That would be our biggest chance.

The anger had faded somewhat, instead leaving behind immovable determination. It felt hollow compared to the blind ferocity of fury, but it was a core of steel and held me up. I looked up from my clenched fist, staring right into Rias' eyes, wide in realization.

"Don't give up just yet, Princess. I promised I'd save you, didn't I?"

Hoping that sounded as cool and comforting as it did in my head, I turned around, pushing past a slightly shell-shocked Kiba on my way to the door, not looking back as I closed it behind me.

I managed to stay upright for a moment longer before slumping to the wall, back against firm plaster and wood. Way to make promises you can't keep, Kado. Just add them on to the pile, why don't you.

No, I couldn't think like that. I _had_ to do this. For Rias and for her future. Shaking my head from side to side I pushed off the wall, taking a moment to straighten the borrowed school uniform, the sleeves barely too long for my own limbs.

The next step would be to visit Kioko, let her know how the rating game had gone. I'd promised myself not to keep her out of the loop and it wasn't like I could hide something as large as losing the rating game anyway. I knew her address, so I could be there in about half an hour.

Stepping outside of the clubhouse, still caught up in my thoughts, I reflexively shivered at the cold before realizing that it was nighttime, the time either approaching midnight or having already passed it. How long had I been asleep?

At this hour Kioko would be asleep, and my parents were expecting me back by the afternoon, not almost into the following day. Clicking my tongue I picked up my pace into a run, thanking the devil body once again as I sped through the night air.

Veering my path to cut across the park and shave a few minutes off my time, I shivered and picked up the pace slightly as I passed by the fountain, remembering that the last time I had been here I had been distraught at best and self-harming at worst. If Kioko hadn't been there I didn't want to think of what might have happened.

It wasn't long before I reached the street that my house was on, still only breathing lightly thanks to it being the middle of the night and my devil traits being the strongest. There were no street lamps to light up the thin avenue that my house was on, but I could see the two-story form of the antique shop just fine with night vision.

Slowing down as I reached the door I fumbled around in the windowsill for the house key. Slipping the thin piece of metal into the lock I eased open the door, cursing as the small bell hung over the door lightly rang, a faint tinkling sound in the darkness.

Hoping that all my family was asleep I closed the door behind me and locked it with a small click, slipping the key into my pocket before slowly creeping through the randomly sorted piles of old but expensive junk to make my way to the staircase on the other side of the room.

Reaching the bottom of the old wood stairs, my heart sank as I saw a slight orange glow lighting up the side of the wall, proof that there was some kind of light on upstairs. It was probably my mother, always worrying about me. Not bothering to try and hide my footsteps anymore I walked up the stairs, still inwardly wincing at each creak as the boards bent beneath my weight.

As my head poked over the top of the stairs I could see the silhouette of my mother, seated on our aged sofa with a book in her hand and a lamp behind her, framing her in the dim light.

Just as I climbed the last stair my mother turned her head to the side in a motion that suggested it was a habitual check, immediately noticing me and placing a thin bookmark into her book before climbing to her feet.

I stepped forward into the light, prepared to apologize for being so late, but was interrupted as my mother moved forward and wrapped her arms around me in a deep hug. My body tensed at the first moment of contact before sagging, releasing all the pain and stress that had been built up as if by magic.

My family usually tended to avoid physical contact, a combination of fears and worries that hadn't been cleared away even by years of living together. But I could feel relief suffusing my mother's body just as it did mine, somehow this loving gesture exactly what we needed at the moment.

My hands twitched, before slowly reaching up to return the embrace but my mother pulled away first, stepping back and folding her arms in front of her as her long black hair flowed smoothly behind her back. The perfect picture of a loving lady.

Slowly, ensuring I could make out the words, she mouthed _did you have fun?_

Swallowing, I put a wide grin on my face and hoped she couldn't noticed how fake it was in the darkness. "Yeah, it was…" My arms shuddering to a halt as the blade lodged in her stomach, my hands soaked in blood as I brought them down again and again, the searing heat in my back and look of defeat in Rias' eyes. "…Fun."

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

My eyes slowly blinked open as the almost rhythmic thumping noises against my door finally shook me from my troubled sleep. Rubbing my face and forcefully chasing away the final images of dull eyes and blue sparks, I glanced at the clock on my bedside table to see just how early my sisters had decided to wake me up. "What do you want?"

The pounding finally stopped, a relief to my already budding headache. "You didn't call-" "You didn't write-" "You got back late-" "You have to tell us everything that happened!"

I groaned again, giving up on falling back asleep with those two so eager for details. It was rare that I was gone more than a day, so almost two weeks was probably strange for them. I should probably be grateful that they actually let me sleep in as long as they did, even if it was only a few hours with how late I got back last night. At least it was a Sunday, so I didn't have to go to school on top of everything else.

Well, there was no avoiding this. There was no way my sisters would let me hold off on sharing the story, so I'd just have to get it over with. There was no way I was going to tell them about Rias almost killing me though, or about fighting with Riser…

…Or the rating game at all, or training with magic, or _anything I did._ Mentally panicking now, I berated myself for not coming up with a cover story before this. What did I think was going to happen?

"Did you fall asleep?" "Do we need to come in?" "We can wake you up…" "I'll get the water!"

"No, that's fine!" I immediately yelled, shooting up in bed and pushing the blankets off me with one hand. "I'm up! I'm up!" Now I just had to figure out a good story that didn't involve anything about devils, magic, or death in five minutes. No problem, right?

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

"And you're sure that wasn't dangerous at all?" My father asked quietly, poking one eye up over the book he was reading to fix me with a skeptical expression.

Shoving down a brief burst of irritation I smiled, waving off his concern with a casual shrug and gesture with my chopsticks. "The President's family owned the property, so I'm sure that they made sure that the property was safe before we came. Besides, there were beds and electricity, so it can't have been that old."

"So there weren't any ghosts," "or zombies," "or yokai," "or _anything_ there?" My sisters asked, slightly downhearted but with faint hope in their eyes. I could see my father rolling his eyes behind his fake glasses and mother was silently chuckling. If only they knew…

"Well," I said secretively, leaning in closer and lowering my voice, "I'm not supposed to tell you, but there was an old devil locked away in the basement." My sisters were transfixed, leaning in closer to match me with awe in their eyes. "It scared Rias so badly that she screamed," I confided in a whisper, "But I punched it so hard that it went back to the underworld and never came back." Okay, so I took some liberties with the tale.

Leaning back in my chair with a satisfied look, I watched smugly as my sisters talked between each other in hushed whispers. Then they turned to me as one and said "You're lying."

Slumping down lower in my seat, I sighed, poking half-heartedly at my food with a pout on my face. "Well no need to be so mean about it…"

"We're twelve," "not two." "It was an obvious excuse for-" "skipping school all week."

I was thankfully distracted from the ruthless barbs of my sisters as my mother tapped my shoulder. Turning to her, she carefully mouthed _No honorific?_ with a raised eyebrow and amused look in her eye.

Please let me go back to the insults. Looking down at the food in front of me and poking the small pile of vegetables with my chopsticks, I said "Well I didn't start off on the best terms with Ria- the President, and so it was a way to snub her at first. We're friends now, but it feels weird to call her anything else."

"If you didn't like Gremory-senpai at first," sister number one asked, "Why did you join her club?" finished sister number two.

Huh. That was a very good question that I really should have figured out the answer to before now. Since somehow I didn't think that "I died and got impressed into indentured servitude" would go over that well. "I really like the supernatural," I hedged, sounding as confident as I could with such a weak reason.

My father chuckled slightly from behind his book, a bite of food disappearing as he brought it up to his mouth. "Doesn't surprise me with all those books you read."

Another brief surge of bitterness surged up but I quickly quashed it and forced a laugh. "Yeah, guess I couldn't give up hope on discovering magic just yet."

Out of the corner of my eye I could see my mother giving me a slightly worried look, but I ignored her and just concentrated on my food. Luckily the conversation didn't continue after that and in ten minutes I was bounding out the door to the antique store, barely missing someone coming into the shop as I skidded onto the street.

Now my first priority was to tell Kioko about the rating game, but why do something so simple? With a smile I pulled out one of my sisters' cell phones which I had nicked in the confusion of cleaning up after breakfast, my own having been destroyed in the rating game. "Hey, Kioko-chan? This is Kado, would you be willing to go on a date with me today?"

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

When Kioko had told me it would take her an hour and a half to prepare for the date I had rolled my eyes, mentally thinking that there was no way it should take that long. I mean it was just putting on a set of clothes and doing hair, right? I'd made sure to pick out a nice-looking set of clothes for myself, but that was barely even ten minutes, not the ninety that Kioko was taking.

I immediately regretted that line of thought when I saw Kioko walk into the mall square, the same place our double date with Issei and Asia had ended so tragically. If I hadn't already been sitting down at one of the park benches beneath the shade of a tree, my knees would have buckled as I caught sight of my girlfriend.

She was wearing an ocean-blue dress I had never seen before, draped over one shoulder and trailing down at an angle, lightening in shade until it was the shade of a clear sky as it ended at mid-thigh, leaving enough of her long legs visible to make my heart skip a beat. Her shoes were new as well, a set of sandals with multiple straps wrapping around her ankles to secure them on her feet and with just a touch of high heel to make her seem taller. Overall, she looked like a goddess from Greek mythology come to life.

Realizing that I was basically ogling Kioko I jerked my attention up to her face and found myself once again struck dumb. Her hair was gathered in a set of braids that seemed to weave in and out of each other, framing her face and curling slightly at the ends. Even her face seemed to glow, enhancing the smirk and raised eyebrow that proved that Kioko had noticed my staring.

Flushing slightly I redirected my gaze to the metal table I was seated at, afraid of looking at Kioko in a way that I really shouldn't. But I still couldn't keep from stealing quick glances at her as she slowly walked over, only catching brief flashes that left me hungering for more.

By the time I felt that I could control myself, Kioko was seated across from me, one elbow leaning on the table and looking at me with a look of teasing expectancy. "Well?" She asked, obviously all too aware of the effect she was having on me and not quite ready to give up control just yet.

"You're absolutely beautiful," I said honestly, still not fully there enough to come up with a better response and fighting to keep my gaze on her eyes instead of drifting to elsewhere on her body. I really should shoot whoever said that an hour and a half was too long to get ready for a date.

A smile twitched at the corner of Kioko's mouth but she suppressed it quickly, turning away as if she didn't care. "And?" She said imperiously, not yet satisfied.

Thinking for a moment, now that I'd managed to reclaim my scattered bits of concentration, I gave a debonair smirk and reached forward to take Kioko's soft hand in my own rough one, leaning forward to bestow a slight kiss on the back of the hand. "My lady, you are a treasure too fine for this world, better suited for the vast heavens where you would outshine even the brightest of stars."

I watched carefully, hiding a smirk, as red slowly began to suffuse Kioko's ears, though she managed to keep the blush from reaching her cheeks. After a moment of shocked silence, Kioko yanked her hand back, tucking it in closer to her chest as she looked into my eyes like she wasn't affected at all. "And?"

Oh, so that was how she was going to play it?

As I stood up, Kioko's face took on a concerned expression and she put out her hand, worried that she'd gone too far. She paused though when I rounded the edge of the table and dropped to one knee next to her.

"Horikawa Kioko," I said honestly. "You are the love of my life and I have no idea how I survived my life until I met you." Taking a breath and subtly enjoying how flustered Kioko looked, I continued. "You're always there when I need you, and I hope that I can be take up a fraction of the space in your heart that you occupy in mine. The only reason I haven't already proposed is because we're both in highschool and I don't have a ring yet."

There was a moment of silence, Kioko squirming away from my look and futilely turning away from me to hide her radiant blush. Then a voice from outside our little bubble called out "Woo! You go, man!"

As if that was the first drop of rain, suddenly there was applause, whoops and cheers, and flashes from cell phones coming from everywhere around us. Looking around with wide eyes I realized that somehow Kioko and I had become the center of attention in the mall, a circle of bystanders surrounding us like a fighting ring.

Kioko hadn't noticed the crowd either, judging by her startled look and curling deeper into herself. That was enough reason for me to ignore my mounting embarrassment and stand up again, forcibly grabbing Kioko's hand and yanking her off the park bench. Head down, I pushed through the crowd and ignored the cheering and pats on the back from strangers as well as I could, although a smile of my own was tugging at the corner of my mouth.

Luckily, the crowd let us go without much hassle, dissolving quickly once they realized the spectacle was over and leaving us alone again, although an elderly man gave me a final wink and thumbs-up from across the square. As I waited for Kioko to regain control of herself I couldn't help but run over what had just happened.

What in the name of Hades had I just said! I had been trying to embarrass Kioko, but I hadn't meant for all _that_ to come out! What was she going to think? That I was too enthusiastic? That I had gone too far? This could change everything!

But underneath it all, what scared me the most was the fact that I had meant every word. Only a month ago I had been so sure that leaving Kioko behind was the right thing to do. I knew that I would keep throwing myself into dangerous situations, and how could I drag Kioko down with me into the world of devils and gods? I knew that she could take care of herself, but she shouldn't have to worry about me, never knowing if I would come back alive.

I'd decided that all long ago, knowing that this was only going to be a short-term thing. So now why was I having these thoughts? There was no way that it could work out between us, not when I kept throwing myself into trouble and danger like I knew I would. But how could I simply discard that part of me?

A murmur broke me from my thoughts and I turned to Kioko, who was looking away from me, head bowed. "Sorry, what was that?" I asked. "I was distracted and didn't hear you."

Kioko lifted her head slightly, showing me the edge of a smile and a hint of teary eyes. "I said yes, you idiot."

And with that short sentence, every doubt in my mind abruptly vanished, leaving me shell-shocked as a slow goofy grin grew on my face. "Oh," I said stupidly, not able to gather any other words.

Looking up and seeing my face, Kioko giggled to herself. "Come on then, idiot, let's go find somewhere less crowded," she said, already pulling my hand along behind her like I was a stubborn dog on a leash.

I just followed, unable to do anything but smile.

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

"Well."

"Well."

"I've never been thrown out of an arcade before."

"And I've never accidentally broken three machines in a row."

"What part of that was accidental! Why did you even try the punching machine if you can't control your devil strength!"

"I don't know, it was just an urge! I didn't realize that the machine was that weak!"

"So you decided to try the same thing _two more times?_ "

"If they can't do the upkeep on their machines properly, they shouldn't have them."

Kioko gave up the argument as a lost cause, rolling her eyes and sighing deeply to show her frustration. Her hand was still entwined with my own though, a comforting warmth that let me know that she wasn't really that mad.

I winced as I walked into another lamppost, Kioko walking close enough to the obstacle that I would either have to let go of her hand or take the hit. Okay, maybe she was a little upset.

It had been a great day so far, spending time together and laughing about stupid things like hair and school, a nice meal, followed by visiting the arcade and proving that I really was just that bad at arcade games. The first punching machine I broke had been a result of not monitoring my strength enough, but the second I got a little too vigorous at when I noticed an older man staring creepily at Kioko.

The third machine I broke was on purpose. The sleazy-looking guy left after that, which said good things for his life expectancy. I still tried to remember his face though, just in case I saw him again later.

The one thing that I hadn't done yet today was tell Kioko about the rating game. Glancing up quickly at the sky, I figured that I still had a few more hours before I should get home. That should be plenty of time for the idea I had in mind.

Lightly tugging at our joined hands, I got Kioko to stop just before dragging me into another street sign. "Yes, Kado-kun? Did you need something?" She asked sweetly. Oh yeah, she was mad.

I kept my gaze locked on her jade eyes, refusing to let my gaze drift elsewhere. "If it's not too much trouble, could we go somewhere for a bit?" I wanted this to be private, without anyone else around, and I knew the perfect place.

Kioko studied my face for a time, sharp eyes roving my features for something that I couldn't tell, before looking away with a careless shrug. "Sure, be my guest."

Navigating around the metal street sign I took the lead, wordlessly leading Kioko farther away from the mall and into the eastern edge of Kuoh. After a ten minute walk we were already in a less reputable neighborhood, the streets cracked and the majority of buildings being crumbling apartment buildings with grimy windows and graffiti painted onto walls and fences.

The street was empty, not another person in sight although I could hear a baby crying from a few houses away and, at one point, a sound of breaking glass. This was where the bottom percent went. The hungry, the desolate, the survivors. I still couldn't say if I was blessed or cursed to know it so well.

Still leading Kioko by the hand I pulled her into a specific alley marked by a skull scratched into a brick. Partway down the alleyway I reached above my head and pulled down a rusty iron fire escape ladder that screeched with rust the entire way down.

Pulling on a rung to make sure the ladder was secure, I waved my free hand towards the ladder. "After you milady," I said with false cheer, a fake smile on my face. I could tell that Kioko didn't buy it for a second, but daintily giggled anyway and rapidly climbed up the ladder, lowering a hand down to me afterward to help me up.

I accepted the hand gratefully and climbed up, leading the way to the next iron stairway and upwards. The aged metal grated beneath our feet like the workings of a mighty mechanical beast, ready to swallow us at any moment.

Reaching the top of the fire escape, a stacked pile of metal pipes used for sewer work let us scramble to the top of the building, the roof. It was completely flat and bare of anything but a water tower and a few blocks of cooling units, shut off despite the approaching heat of summer.

Plopping down at the edge of the roof, I invited Kioko to sit down by my side. As she did so I gazed out over the edge of the roof and marveled again. From here you could see cars, people, businesses, all running their daily lives, all with their own struggles and trials.

But from here they all seemed so far away, tiny false figures like toy soldiers, marching on in another dimension that didn't affect me at all. Even just sitting down relieved some of the stress from my shoulders that had been resting there for the last while. Right now it was just Kioko and I, nothing else.

We sat in silence, just taking in the view for a time, the sun slowly creeping lower in the sky. Eventually I broke the quiet, wetting my lips carefully before speaking. "My first fight was against one of Riser's knights, a girl named Siris who was the 'Delinquent,' whatever that meant." I said quietly.

Kioko stayed mercifully silent, which was a blessing since I wasn't sure if I'd be able to keep going if I stopped. "I stole her sword and almost cut in her half," I said bluntly. No more lies. No more avoiding things that Kioko needed to know. I couldn't keep being that person anymore, for her sake.

I told her about the entire rating game. About how I felt discontent in my role, about scaring Mira so badly that she resigned, about becoming arrogant and investigating too far. About Ravel, how I'd defeated her. And how I'd fallen for Riser's trap and forced Rias to resign. I even told her about the attack I'd jumped in front of to save Rias, something I usually would have kept to myself.

At the end of it all, I just sat still, hands in my lap and staring out across the expanse of air beneath us. "I just…" I couldn't put it into words, how crushed and broken I felt. How I regretted the mistakes I'd made and regretted who I had become. "I just… wanted to save someone."

My body shuddered once, twice, before the dam broke and tears pricked at the corner of my eyes. I brought an arm up and furiously scrubbed my eyes, not wanting to seem weak or broken to Kioko. "I'm sorry, it's nothing-"

Warm arms wrapped around me and I was pulled into Kioko, my head resting just above her collarbone as she enveloped me, refusing to let me go. If my mother's embrace was relief and worry unfounded, this was empathy and acceptance.

My breath hitched and I finally began to cry in earnest, tears pouring down my face and dampening Kioko's dress drop by drop as the cage that I had locked every negative emotion of the rating game into finally came loose, letting everything pour out at once.

I don't know how long it was until I had finally released everything stored up inside me, feeling as drained as if I had just run a marathon before I became a devil. My face pressed to Kioko's shoulder as her arms were still wrapped around me, unrelenting. As solid as time itself.

And for the first time I could remember, I felt safe.

"You saved me."

Kioko's whisper was directly next to my ear and I could hear it clearly. I didn't try to move, instead just relishing in the feeling and willing to listen to Kioko like she had done for me.

"It was the twenty-third of January, last year," she began, speaking softly. "An underclassman stood on the roof and shouted something stupid at a crowd of second-years heading home."

I could remember what she was talking about now, the day that we had technically met. I shifted slightly, uncomfortable at remembering the embarrassing memory, but kept quiet. This was clearly important to Kioko, and I wasn't going to ruin it.

There was a long pause as Kioko didn't continue and I could feel her chest rising and falling, breath ghosting past my ear. "What you didn't know was that I had killed my parents barely two months before."

My head shot up fast enough to almost clip Kioko's chin, although I was still held tightly by Kioko and my neck was now at an awkward angle. Kioko's eyes were blank and fixed on the horizon, much like my own had been previously and her tone had no inflexion in it.

"It was just an experiment with my powers, it shouldn't have been dangerous at all. Just a simple experiment." Her voice didn't shake or vary at all, completely steady. "Then my parents were on the floor, dead. Hollow shells without a soul.

"Nobody knew, I just kept going to school and living like I always did. But it was all so… empty. Cardboard cutouts and pasted figures." Kioko didn't even seem to be blinking, just staring ahead, emotionless. But I could see small droplets beginning to grow at the corners of her eyes.

"And so," Kioko went on, "that day, when you called out to me, I had decided to kill myself." Her tone was bland, no variation from the previous sentence. But my blood boiled at hearing that, anger mixed with guilt that she'd been going through that pain and I hadn't noticed. The only thing that let me keep my tongue was that I knew that she hadn't gone through with it, that she was still in front of me.

But I still reached around and hugged her, tightening my arms around her as if to verify that she was alive, more than just a ghost. Kioko's arms squeezed back, returning the brief show of affection.

"I was going to kill myself the same way I had my parents. No damage, no crime, just three corpses. And then…" Kioko's voice changed at last, gaining a slightly dreamy tone as her voice lifted. "You called out to me. And for some reason, it felt like you were talking just to me."

Her shoulder jabbed me in the face as Kioko shrugged, her body loosening and finally relaxing slightly. "So I talked to you. Maybe I was just hoping you were a sign of some kind, some force telling me not to do it. But you were just a normal guy who had lost a bet. I don't even know why I told you my name, really."

I had no idea that was what had been going through her head at the time. She seemed normal, teasing, maybe just a bit annoyed when she interrupted me in the stairway, but I had completely missed what was going inside her. How practiced was that mask that I hadn't seen even a hint of what happened underneath it?

"So I went home. I thought about my parents, how much they loved me, and how horrible a person I was for killing them. How much I deserved to die for what I'd done. And… I couldn't go through with it.

"The next day, I went back to school and found you at lunch. I ambushed you, and you remembered me. You _remembered_ me. And I haven't considered suicide since. It could have been anyone who remembered it, it was just a name after all. But… I'm glad it was you. I dated you because you're you, not because you remembered my name."

My mouth was dry, my entire body focused on this moment. It was a mixture between hope, shame, and guilt in a churning well of emotions that I couldn't make sense of. I had changed her life that much? But the most prominent feeling was a sense of determination.

I placed my hands on Kioko's shoulders, gently pushing myself away from her, this time her hands giving way and sliding down to my waist as I looked Kioko in the eyes. "You deserve to be alive. I don't care about what happened in your past, I wouldn't be where I am without you and if you disappeared, I swear I'd hunt you down and bring you back."

Kioko's eyes were still slightly glassy, but she looked back with the same iron will that I had, her green eyes boring into my own. "And the same goes for you." What did she mean? She kept going, not giving me a chance to say anything. "I don't care what you did, or what you think you did. Even if the world hates you and the universe is arranged against you, I will always love you. Until the end of time."

I suddenly realized that Kioko was a lot closer than she had been before, her eyes slowly drifting closed, leaving just a speck of green visible beneath her eyelids. I swallowed nervously, remembering my decision. Didn't I decide that this was too much, too dangerous? I should pull back, stop now. I had the feeling that this was a line that if I crossed, I wouldn't be able to go back on.

Then her slightly damp limps met my own dry ones in a stiff touch that quickly melted into a kiss that seemed to wipe away everything else. Her hands on my waist, my hands on her shoulders and the rest of the world fading around us like it was our first kiss all over again.

It wasn't romance, it was love. It wasn't heartwarming, it was heartbreaking. We were two broken people barely holding each other together. But it than moment, it was more than enough.

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

I was emotionally and spiritually drained as I walked down the dim street towards my house but I still had it in me to whistle a soft tune, a warm feeling in my chest. It was still just barely light enough that the devil vision made everything seem too bright, while shadows popped up in odd places, turning the simple street into a confusing mix of light and dark that made the whole world seem like an old film.

The chime of the bell as I pushed the old door open was comforting this time, as opposed to the feeling of shame that it caused last night. But the sound wasn't followed by the standard welcome provided to everyone who walked through the door, something I was used to from my years living here. Frowning, I peeked around a tall wardrobe from the fifties to see the cluttered counter, with nobody standing behind it.

The store stayed open until seven, so either my mother or my father should still be around. It was odd and somewhat concerning that they were absent. Had someone gotten sick? Navigating through the cluttered mess of dusty wood and porcelain I made it to the base of the steps and hopped up them, skipping every other stair as I advanced upwards.

Reaching the top, I grabbed onto the side banister and swung around to bleed off momentum. "Hey, is everyone-"

I froze, taking in the scene in a second. The room was untouched, the furniture the exact same as I had last seen it. But in the center of the living room, where there was usually nothing but empty space, there lay a pile of bodies, stacked like a pile of logs.

At the bottom of the pile, hands and feet tied with a thin black strap and another strip of black over his mouth, was my father. His glasses were nowhere to be seen and his head was lolling limply to the side with his eyes closed. A section of his silver-black hair was stained red.

Lying directly to his sides, arms and legs wrapped the same way, were my sisters, heads facing me and short black hair in a tangled mess in front of their faces, doing nothing to block the terrified looks in their eyes, although I could tell that the sister to the right was trying to look brave, holding back tears as best as she could.

On top of the pile was my mother, upside-down but still facing me, with no tape to block her mouth. She was crying, the tears dripping down her forehead and disappearing into her hair, loose from it's usual tight bun. Her eyes were filled with fear, just like my sisters, but it was for her family and for me, not for herself. And over and over, her lips formed the single word _Run!_

Beneath the pile, slowly rotating like a pack of sharks waiting for the kill, was a large golden-yellow magic circle in the shape of a bird created from fire. I had seen it once before, when Riser had visited Rias.

The circle pulsed and I burst forward, a silent scream on my lips as demonic energy poured from my soul in a flood, rushing into my limbs and lighting them up brighter than the start of the universe. The world blurred into perfect focus as everything seemed to slow down, my hand stretching out in front of me in slow motion.

My fingers were millimeters from my mother's face when the magic circle lit up, a pillar of fire erupting into the room and immediately drying my eyeballs and scalding my lungs. My vision was blocked from my wrist down, my hand not blocking it for a second.

Everything seemed to hang still for a instant of eternity before my body burst, unable to handle the magical energy and the world lighting up in all the colors of a supernova as my body crashed to the ground, unable to do a thing as bright spikes of pain raced up my spine and into my brain.

I scrambled to hang onto the last shreds of consciousness and managed to weather the pain long enough to see the fire dying down to reveal black ash floating to the ground along with the smell of burnt flesh and the sound of a bell ringing in the distance.

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

Hands cupping a warm cup of Akeno's best tea, I leaned back into the couch and let out a long drawn-out sigh, finally relishing in a moment of piece.

My eyebrows scrunched together as I heard quiet giggling from Akeno across the room. Growling lowly, I lifted my hand and shot off a harmless ball of magical energy in her direction which was easily dodged with a casual step to the side and a taunting "Oh, so violent~"

When my only reply was to groan and let my hand fall back to my side without complaint, Akeno's face quickly shifted into a concerned expression as she sat down on the couch across from me. "The day was that bad then?" She asked understandingly. "Just take some time and tell your old friend Akeno-chan _aaall_ about it~"

This time the ball of magic hit Akeno's forehead directly, leaving a small welt that Akeno quickly healed with a pout. She wasn't wrong though, it might be nice to get the events of the day off my chest.

"Have you ever spent time shopping for the perfect dress for an occasion?"

My friend's smirk would have chased away many of her "admirers" if they ever saw it, promising pain with just a touch of pleasure in it. "Why yes, I have," she practically purred. "Ara ara, does my master want to see me in _that?_ Ara ara, I think our relationship is progressing a little too quick for my tastes. I prefer men, you know."

She was rewarded with another ball of magic to the head, this one leaving a small burn that she deserved completely. I had my suspicions as to what "that" was but I had absolutely no interest in finding out. "Quiet you. Anyway, imagine doing that, but you're searching for a wedding dress, so there's at least twice as many types, and you hate the guy you're going to be married to."

Akeno winced in genuine empathy, knowing far too well my specific reasons for hating Riser. "I can understand why-"

I held up a hand and Akeno immediately stopped, allowing me to continue my thought. "Not only that, but once you find the perfect dress you're told that you can't buy it and 'put this on, it goes well with Master Phenex's hair.'"

Akeno winced again and wordlessly passed me her yet-untouched cup of tea, allowing me to continue to drink the calming brew while she refilled my first cup with deftly practiced movements.

After making sure that I was finished with talking for the moment, Akeno spoke up again, trying to understand my situation better. "Was Riser there himself then?"

Taking another sip of tea I sighed with relief as it slid soothingly down my throat. "No, thank goodness. I'd expected him to show up and brag about his superiority or about how pretty his new wife was, but I didn't see a single hair of his Maou-accursed head during the entire trip."

I let out a dark chuckle, looking down into the vague swirls of the tea. "Perhaps he realized that if he showed up I'd try to shove the power of destruction down his throat before he laid a hand on me." Even as I said it, the room seemed to grow colder and I took another sip of tea to warm myself up again.

Despite the fact that my joke was half serious, or possibly because of that, Akeno laughed loudly, not the usual giggling act that she normally did. She recognized that if she hadn't, it would have left an awkward silence that would have only dragged me down deeper into depressing thoughts. And the fact that I had a true friend like Akeno through thick and thin brought a warmth to my stomach more comforting than any tea.

Naturally, that was when the intruder alarms went off. A harsh alarm tone that seemed to reverberate within my head, a pulsing two-time beat like the harsh shriek of steel against steel.

Both Akeno and I jumped to our feet and I could already feel Akeno's magic building within her. "Stay out of sight and try to limit the intruder's movements," I barked at Akeno, beginning to form an orb of destruction in my hands. Whoever was attacking us clearly had no idea who we were, most likely a stray devil.

Akeno carefully slid behind the shower curtain, hiding her body and ready to attack if necessary while I stood in the center of the room, a fluctuating red ball hidden behind my back and ready to launch if necessary. I could hear pounding footsteps on the hallway outside, rapidly coming closer.

The door burst open at the same time that a bolt of lightning shot forward and a ball of destruction flew towards the opening moments before I recognized the blonde hair barging into our domain. "Horikawa-san!" My voice had a touch of panic in it, reaching out to try and regain control over my magic to stop it from annihilating my pawn's girlfriend.

Which is why my mouth dropped open when the void of perfect nothingness was blocked by a single pale hand, struggling for a moment in place before evaporating into faint red wisps of smoke that quickly vanished.

The lightning didn't even receive that much effort, simply being absorbed into Kioko's body without a single scratch besides burning a small hole in the girl's blue dress. What was probably close to a million volts of energy, completely ignored.

What really drew my attention though was the form on the girl's back. I could see short black hair over her shoulder, and though I couldn't see the face the body wasn't wearing a shirt. Instead, there was a tattered piece of cloth wrapped around the body's right hand, far closer to the elbow than there should be if there was a hand.

"Horikawa-san?" I asked in shock, attempting to grasp what had happened. Why was a stranger I barely knew breaking into our home with a possible dead body? And _how_ had she nullified our attacks like that?

Kioko passed me without pause, completely ignoring both me and Akeno, who had emerged from the shower area with a wide look of shock on her own face. The girl stopped by the couch and sank down onto her knees, carefully rolling the body she carried onto the couch, letting him fall face up, arms spread out wide and legs bunched beneath the body.

I gasped as the face of my second pawn came into view, looking completely limp and almost dead. I could barely make out the slow rise and fall of his bright red chest, a burn mark stretching from across his face all the way down to his navel. Moving forward almost before I realized what I was doing, I pushed Kioko to the side and lowered a hand to Kado's chest, intent on investigating for any injuries.

But a hand snapped out and intervened, grabbing my wrist and holding it in place before I could touch my pawn, gripping tightly enough to hurt, but not enough to leave a bruise. Horikawa Kioko was standing next to me, green eyes lit with an inner fire and glaring at my face with an almost murderous gaze. "Keep your hands off him," she growled like a rabid animal.

Glaring back, I stopped trying to push my hand further down and let it hang still in Kioko's grasp. "Then why did you bring him here," I snapped, annoyed with this girl who was trying to keep me from healing my pawn. "Now will you let me heal him or will you continue to stand there while your boyfriend dies because of your jealousy."

The girl growled again, but let Akeno lead her away and set her down on the couch opposite, not taking her eyes off Kado the entire time. Holding back my sigh I turned back to my pawn, placing my hand on his chest and feeling out the pawn bond between us. Maou save me from high-strung girls with no common sense.

Each devil piece bond I had created was like a skein of thread interwoven with feelings and sensations that were inert for the most part, but would come alive when called upon. But as I tugged at the wrapped cord it seemed off, each pulse seeming muted and somehow strange. It felt like a tangled mess of colors and feelings, like wind blowing through a field of purple and orange.

But beneath it all I could feel a distant sense of aching pain. I couldn't tell if it was physical, mental, or spiritual, but it was somehow affecting the bond badly enough that I couldn't get anything solid from it.

Clicking my tongue unsatisfactorily, I pulled away and instead used magic to feel out through my pawn's body, analyzing it bit by bit. As I did so, I called out to Akeno. "Can you go and get Asia? We're going to need her help." I didn't want to have to involve the frail girl, especially when she seemed to have such a severe reaction to Kado, but this was best suited for her talents.

As Akeno left the room, my frown grew more and more, the questing web of magic spreading throughout Kado's body revealing more and more damage. By the time the scan had finished after an agonizing minute I was clenching my teeth in anger.

Pulling my hand away from his bare torso, colored red by deep burns, I pivoted on my foot and shot a glare at Kioko, fingers already fumbling at the buttons on my dress. "What happened to him! Besides the burn and the fact that he is _missing a hand_ , his musculature and bones are barely holding together! His brain is on the verge on being mush! It's a miracle that Kado-san hasn't already died!"

The girl twitched before finally lifting her unblinking eyes away from my pawn and looking almost disinterestedly into my own eyes. "His home was attacked by the Phenex family. His parents and sisters are dead and he almost killed himself trying to use magic to save them."

My fingers slowed and finally stopped as she spoke, my disbelief growing too much to bear. "What? Do you have proof the Phenex clan is involved?" The girl looked hesitant, but eventually shook her head. I breathed a silent sigh of relief at that as I returned to disrobing. It would be an absolute disaster if it was discovered that a house of the seventy-two pillars had done something like attacking a human family for revenge.

My body froze, feeling like ice was crawling up my spine and invading my insides as wriggling tendrils that arrested my heart and stopped my movement. In front of me were two glaring chips of bright green ice that would not allow me to move, to flee. Even as I watched, red began to bleed into those merciless green eyes, tainting them with the color of blood.

A door burst open to the side, Akeno entering in with a tired but panicked Asia trailing behind her. "Buchou, how bad is the damage?" Then the furious red eyes blinked and I was free, shaking fingers slowly fumbling at the last button in an effort to remove it.

Kioko's eyes were green now, still looking murderous, but no longer holding that same strange power over me. It must have been strange, my mind forcing me to see something that wasn't there. But as I turned away to direct Akeno and Asia to the healing of my injured pawn, those two red orbs hung in the back of my mind, an afterimage in my vision.

I had seen eyes like those once before. The eyes of a demon.

* * *

End AN: Aaaand hello!

Quick note before I get to the explanations, this is a week late since I lost basically all my data including my writing last Monday and so basically had to rewrite this chapter in about 3 days. Some parts are changed from the original version, some parts are the same, but I think that the overall quality is worse. If I ever do manage to regain my data, I would love to piece together the two versions and make it better.

Right, explanation time. First up, I've had this planned for quite a while. Since before February, when I decided that Kado was going to defeat Ravel, I knew that the Phenex family would want to have some kind of revenge for that. And yeah, this seems a bit extreme and it might be, but Riser is mad and doesn't care about a bunch of humans. He can't do a direct attack on another devil's piece, but if a fire happens to burn down their home, well there's no proof that it was them, right?

Kioko's backstory hasn't been planned for quite as long, but I knew that her parents were dead or absent the entire time, I just didn't realize that she was the one that killed them until a few weeks ago. And yeah, this is getting pretty edgy, I get that, but I'm trying to be somewhat realistic about how things develop. I didn't have Kado's family die just to cause him more suffering, I did it because it made sense for what Riser would do for revenge. "You touch my family I touch your family" kind of thing.

All the same, I feel like this could drive off a lot of people and I really feel like I didn't handle it that well. I am trying to build up to something, but I don't think I've set it up properly or that I'll be able to deal with the climax as well as it plays out in my mind. But I've tried to add in a few hints here and there that probably only make sense to me.

Hope you guys did enjoy this, and see you next time!


	17. RIP Fish Thingies

AN: Ha, this one is actually on time!

Yet another reminder that this is an AU because I can't stop myself from saying "What if I do _that_ " and then doing it. Also worldbuilding stuff that I made up on the spot and now have to rationalize with everything else. Because I'm a _writer_ and we get to do that.

...Yeah, I should really go back and fix all the stuff I messed up at some point shouldn't I.

As you may have guessed by the fact that this chapter actually has an author's note instead of just a creepily long list of warnings, this chapter isn't going to be as bad as the last one was. And related to that...

Thank you all so much! I honestly thought that my last chapter was absolute garbage that I was just throwing out onto the page to make a deadline I'd already missed, but I got so many reviews from people saying that they actually enjoyed it and looked forward to what happened next! So again, thank you for that, it let me go into writing this chapter with much more enthusiasm and I feel a lot more optimistic.

With that said, lets get into the chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Highschool DxD and I'm sure that everyone involved is perfectly fine with that.

* * *

 _The red was halfway gone, eaten away like a monster had taken giant chunks out of with sharp serrated teeth, leaving violent gouges on the edges of what remained that still seemed to shiver in fear that the beast would return._

 _I could feel each mark, each missing peace inside me, like a book without words or a picture without ink. Empty, lacking everything that gave it value. And wasn_ _'t that what I was? What did I have left?_

 _Without the protection of the red shell half of me was exposed to the blank Nothing, a chill on my left side that left my bones sapped of warmth and sucked all strength from my muscles. Not that I really had either. What was I, anyway? A spirit? A simulacrum of a person? I was Kai Kado, but I wasn_ _'t. A fake of a fake. Truly, there was nothing more regretful than the existence of something like I._

 _But as if to spite the eternal cold both in my body and heart, the right side was warm and comforting, filling me with fire and the will to go on. Attached to the shell and extending off into the distance until it was too far away to see was a winding red thread. It was thin and frayed, but it connected me to something real outside this pitiful existence._

 _The two sides, light and dark, warmth and cold, the Nothing and the Anything that was me, directly bisecting me in a straight line, dividing me into two equal pieces._

 _I hated both sides. The dark for the pain and numbness it felt, the light for the false hope and effort of protection. But most of all, I feared what would happen if a tipping point was ever reached. At this point I could neither survive without the dark nor without the light._

 _But this delicate balance between the two could not last, and eventually either the seductive pull of the Nothing or the determined grasp of the Anything would weaken and I would lose myself. But really, what was I to care either way? I was nothing, and so why should I fear?_

 _How could I have the right to fear?_

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

I'm sure that Kioko had only had my best interests in mind, but as I withheld another wince as I sat up on the bed to accept a small bowl of soup from my girlfriend, I wished that she had let me stay with Rias and Akeno just a little bit longer.

Naturally Kioko didn't miss my brief moment of weakness and was immediately on the other side of the bed, fluffing pillows and worriedly checking my temperature with the back of her hand, leaving me to handle the bowl of hot soup on my own, using every bit of concentration I had to make sure that my hand and supporting stump didn't shake too much as I fought my own body to keep the thin broth from sloshing over the side of the container.

For not the first time, I wished that I hadn't been quite so quick to flood my body with magic as I tried to save my family. I would never regret trying to save somebody, but my hasty efforts had been completely useless and almost got me killed as a result. Next time I would need to take more time to think. (There is no next time.)

Kioko finally noticed my plight and gasped, hurrying over to take the uncomfortably hot bowl from me. "Oh, I'm sorry! Let me take that!" I grinned at her and hid the sigh of relief at the scalding feeling being removed from my hand. No need to give her any further trouble. (What happened to no more lies?)

Looking around for a moment, Kioko decided to set the bowl down on the small table next to the bed, carefully pushing aside a glass of water and a book to make room for the meal. She then turned around and dragged a wooden chair from across the room closer to the bed, sitting down on it before picking up the bowl and corresponding spoon, taking a scoop with the latter and holding it up invitingly. "Say 'aaahh,'" she requested, opening her own mouth wide to invite me to do the same.

I gave a deadpan stare at the girl. "I'm not two, Kioko-chan. I am _completely_ capable of feeding myself." Honestly, she'd been like this ever since I woke up an hour ago. It was comforting to know that she cared so much and was worried, but I was really starting to get tired of being treated like an invalid. Never mind that I was one.

At hearing my words, Kioko's green eyes lost some of their shine, the spoon landing back into the liquid soup with a soft splash. "Are you?" she asked quietly, "Would you be able to take care of yourself with no problems at all? Even though you can't keep your hand from shaking, much less the fact that you are missing a limb?"

Sighing, Kioko closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again and raising the spoon back up again. "I'm sorry, but you really aren't well or even whole. So please don't try to act like you are perfectly fine when we both know that isn't true." Regaining her cheerful attitude, she held the spoon closer to me. "Now open up or I'll end up spilling it on my nice sheets."

Smiling in response, I opened my mouth and leaned forward, allowing the spoonful of soup to enter. It tasted like watered-down chicken broth with too much pepper in it, but I grinned and told her it was delicious anyway. I was injured, that was true, but it was by my own fault. Kioko shouldn't have to suffer for my own selfishness.

Once I was finally done with the meal, Kioko stood from her chair, most likely to go take care of the wooden bowl in her hand. "Kioko-chan?" I asked, interrupting her before she could leave the room.

The blonde girl turned to me, a full smile on her face. "Yes, what is it, Kado-kun? Anything I can do for you?"

"What happened to my family."

Kioko's smile drooped like rain cascading down a windowpane before flexing back up into a rigid grin in the blink of an eye. "What do you mean, Kado-kun? They're perfectly fine. You're just staying with me for a while until you recuperate from the awful accident that made you lose your hand. I'm sure it won't be long before-"

"I'm not stupid," I said quietly, no longer looking at that (fake fake always fake) smile. "I was there, I saw them burn in front of me. There was nothing left but ash." Why did she lie? (What did she have to hide?) "I… just want to know if they got a funeral."

There was silence in the room for a moment before soft footsteps approached and a soft hand laid itself across my own tightly clenched hand. "I'm sorry, Kado-kun," she said with a gentle tone. "I didn't think you remembered and I didn't want to alarm you. I don't want you to hurt any more."

I thought of the deep ache in my chest, different from the rest of the various pains and sore muscles I had in my body. "Yeah, well it's too late for that," I mumbled softly, still not raising my head. A moment later I felt a soft touch on my head, like a fairy's caress and instinctively stiffened before I recognized it as a light kiss.

"Would you like to go see your house?" Kioko asked, still sounding hesitant, as though the wrong word would send me into a fit of screaming. I nodded mutely, and after a moment the soft hand left my own rough, shaking one and footsteps padded across the floor before I heard the sound of a door closing behind Kioko. (Still alone.)

Honestly I didn't. I didn't want to see the ruins of the dream. I knew what had happened but it was like if I didn't see the proof in front of my eyes I wouldn't have to face it. I could close my eyes and pretend that my sisters would wake me up the next day, Mom would make meals that were almost right, and Dad would try to be a father in his own awkward way. That I could continue to cherish the times I'd spent with them like I hadn't when they were real. Had I even told my family I loved them before I'd left to go on a date with Kioko? (Did I ever love them?)

And that was exactly why I had to go. Because I couldn't keep living in a fantasy like that, it would only hurt me more. I had to see my failure with my own eyes and accept that I'd gotten my family killed.

Because I knew that circle, not like it had been hard to recognize. I had insulted Riser, even gone so far as to land a hit on him during the rating game. And so he had targeted my family. They had done nothing wrong, but my sins had been forced onto their shoulders. (They were never supposed to be involved.)

And yet, as I retraced my actions, I couldn't think that I would have done differently. I would have protected my family, I would have warned them and asked Rias or Kioko to place some kind of wards for their protection, but I would never regret that rating game or saving Rias.

Didn't that make me the most selfish one of everyone? Wanting to have my cake and eat it too?

I was pulled from my thoughts by a faint pinging sound. Frowning, I looked around to try and find the source. It had been clear, like two glasses clinking together, but wasn't faint enough to come from outside the room. It was only at the second ping that I noticed a small object rising up past the view I could see through the window and tapping against the glass before falling back down again.

Was someone seriously throwing rocks at my window? Kioko's apartment was on the third floor, so it would take quite a bit of accuracy to repeatedly hit the window. The room I was in wasn't that big, but the bed I rested on was placed at the center of it, leaving me unable to reach the window and open it or even see who was there.

I might not be able to reach the window with my single hand, but I could see that the window was already slightly open so it wouldn't take too much effort to open it completely. With a little maneuvering I was stretching my pajama clad leg out as far as I could, resisting the feeling of aching muscles and stinging pains to finally get a toe in the small aperture and sliding the window farther open, leaving a half-meter of open space.

Almost collapsing in relief and from the strain I retracted my leg and pulled it back under the covers, calling out "Who's there?" It most likely wasn't anyone I knew, since any people from school or from the peerage would just use the front door. Admittedly a little late, I realized that opening a window for a complete stranger when my family had just barely been killed probably wasn't a good idea.

Before I could change my mind and try to close the aperture though, a screaming form rose in a high parabola, barely clearing the gap in the window before collapsing in a heap of brown and black on the floor in a groaning pile.

Craning my neck and resisting the urge to pull at my magic I managed to recognize the messy head of hair that was barely lifting itself up from where it had landed at an uncomfortable angle. "Issei?"

Blinking slowly, Issei didn't seem to hear me, instead jumping to his feet and dashing over to the window, leaning out and yelling down at whoever was below. "I didn't mean throw _me_ , Koneko-chan! I meant a message, like paper or something! How many snacks do you eat that you got that mixed up, you half-sized-"

Breaking off his tirade with a frightened "eep!" Issei leaned back inside the room barely in time to dodge a small object that looked suspiciously like a brick from hitting him in the face as it progressed higher up the building. Leaning back outside the window, Issei called out "You missed! You can't even aim right, you- _ouch_!"

The object coming back down landed on the back of Issei's head, bouncing off and falling back down to the ground below. Issei immediately pulled himself back into the room and slammed the window shut behind him, not daring to take another hit from the annoyed rook.

Up to now I had been watching with a bemused look, but it was probably time to say something. "Umm, Issei? Why did you just come in through my window?" I could honestly figure out most of what had happened after that point, but that still didn't explain why he was here in the first place.

Starting up suddenly and jerking around to see me, Issei's face lit up like a summer festival as he rushed the bed, barely pausing before embracing me in a hug that squeezed my limbs and sore skin uncomfortably tight. At least the burns were healed or it would have been much worse.

"You're alive!" He declared joyously, still not letting go. "And you're awake! Man, you really had me scared!" If anything his grip got tighter, as if afraid that I would drop dead in his arms if he loosened it any.

I rolled my eyes but patting Issei's back in reassurance, a smile tugging at the corner of my mouth. I'd been unconscious for most of it, but it was good to see my… basically only male friend. And wasn't that just sad. "Yeah yeah. Now let go of me before you finish me off."

Issei immediately pulled away with a stricken expression, holding his hands away from me like they were active bombs. "S-Sorry! I should have remembered you were injured!"

"Nah, it's fine." I waved it off casually, not wanting him to start treating me as delicately as Kioko did. If everyone started treating me like a baby bird I'd end probably end up screaming and breaking something.

After a moment I realized that Issei's eyes were tracking from left to right in a repeated pattern. I tracked his line of sight and found his gaze directly pointed at my waving stump. Flushing slightly I shoved the crippled limb back under the blankets, not used to the attention.

"So!" I exclaimed louder than normal, drawing Issei's attention away from my new feature. "Why'd you come in the window like that?" He hadn't ever answered my question in the first place, and it was as good a distraction as any.

It worked and Issei focused on my face, looking confused. "You didn't know? Horikawa-san hasn't let a single person in to see you the entire time you were unconscious." Really? Why would she do that? More of her over-protectiveness?

"And how long was I unconscious?" I asked, that being a question I hadn't asked Kioko when I had the chance. Last time I had taken myself out with magic I had been under for about a day, so I wasn't expecting anything different this time.

"You've been sleeping for about four days now." Issei's face scrunched up in a look of confusion. "Wait, is that including when you were injured?" He shook his head, dismissing the question. "Well either way, it's Friday now."

Friday? Rias was getting married on Sunday! I immediately tried to struggle out of bed, putting my legs down off the side in an effort to stand but immediately had to be helped back onto the bed by an annoyed Issei. "Don't try to move so fast, man! You'll just hurt yourself more."

I put up a token resistance, but knew he was right, even though I grumbled as I sat back on the bed. "That's why you came in the window," I said, "but why'd you come visit me in the first place?" Meanwhile I was trying to figure out how fast I could heal, how long I had to try and force Riser into a situation where he would have to wager Rias.

Issei gave me a look as though I was the stupidest person in the world. "Why do you even have to ask that? It's because we're friends, idiot. Koneko-chan would have come too, but I was the only one that would fit through the window." He said it with such utter conviction that I had no chance or reason to deny it.

"Oh," I said, feeling somewhere between embarrassed and ashamed. I'd called Issei my friend before and really did think of him as one, but I'd assumed he would change his mind about me after the rating game. I really hadn't given him enough credit, had I. "How's Asia-chan doing?" I asked, hoping to deflect the conversation away from the current topic.

"She's doing great!" Issei said almost automatically, before blinking and actually taking the time to think about the question. "Well she's still pretty upset about the rating game. She's really worried about what's going to happen to Rias, you know?" Yeah, that sounded like the gentle girl I knew. She probably hadn't even thought about what was going to happen to her yet.

Issei cast my a sidelong look, carefully sitting down on the edge of the bed next to my legs. "Speaking of the rating game…" Weren't we talking about Asia? "Weren't you the one who killed the-"

The door on the other side of the room opened smoothly as the loud sound of a throat clearing drowned out whatever Issei was about to say. Kioko was standing in the doorway, one hand on the doorknob and a cold look in her eyes. "Excuse me, Hyoudou-san," she said without even a hint of apology in her tone. "But I believe you have overstayed your welcome. Kado-kun is still healing and needs his rest."

Swallowing what he was about to say, Issei shot off my bed, standing up and making a quick bow towards the green-eyed girl. "Sorry, Horikawa-san," he spoke quickly, a hint of fear in his tone. "I didn't mean to bring up anything like that."

"Oh what could you mean?" Kioko laughed hollowly, stepping to the side and leaving an open route to leave the room. "I am simply worried about my boyfriend's condition. Would you please be so kind as to leave him to his rest?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Issei shot me a worried look, barely a glance, before nodding and proceeding to leave the room without another word. Kioko watched his retreating back for a short while before turning back to me, warmth returning to her eyes. "My apologies, Kado-kun," she said with a short bow. "I will make sure that you aren't disturbed again." A moment later the door clicked shut behind her.

My mind was spinning with questions as I looked at the closed door. Why didn't Kioko want anyone to see me? Why had she been so cold to Issei? There was no way that her coming in when she did was a coincidence, so what was Issei going to ask me that she didn't want me to hear? There was something going on her deeper than what was on the surface and Kioko was a large part of it. (What had I done to her?)

But I couldn't do anything about it right now. I had to focus on improving my own condition and on saving Rias. These kinds of questions would have to wait until after that was complete. With a sigh, I laid back down on the bed, enduring the faint pains of my body and pulled the blankets over my head with my sole hand.

My chest never did stop aching. (Never would.)

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

"Is it what you expected?" Kioko asked quietly from over my shoulder, her hand a comforting presence on my shoulder.

I nodded, a lump in my throat preventing me from speaking. It was exactly how I had thought it would be, but it still hurt to actually physically see it. Making the whole thing feel real in a way it simply hadn't been before.

Today was Saturday and Kioko had deemed me healthy enough to visit my home. Or the ruins of what it used to be. I was improved enough that I could walk, if with some trouble, but Kioko had insisted on me using a wheelchair she had scrounged from somewhere.

Actually, Kioko seemed almost paranoid with how often she checked around corners. She was probably worried about more devil assassins, but I couldn't really understand. They wouldn't targeting me, they had already taken what they wanted.

The antique store itself was mostly intact, although I could see that a majority of the wares that used to be inside were missing or damaged, either by the fire or by vandals. A thick coating of a powdery substance lay over the top of everything, remnants of the floor above. I could even see our oven in one corner, having fallen through the floor as some point.

The door was hanging open, almost inviting criminals inside, while the windows and walls were still mostly intact. If you focused only on the lower floor, it looked almost whole, as if the events from last Sunday hadn't happened at all.

But if you dragged your gaze up even just slightly, the top of the walls were charred and covered in black in an uneven wave pattern. And above that, nothing. The second floor, where I had used to live, had been composed of wood and plaster for the most part, with almost no metal in the construction. It looked like the entire second floor had simply vanished, gone without a trace. Almost ten years of memories gone in a single night.

I thought I should cry. It seemed like the correct response in a situation like this. But I just couldn't seem to muster up the emotion to care. I told myself that my family wouldn't want me to cry for them. That they would want me to move on.

But that wasn't it. I just… couldn't cry. Maybe I was still in shock. Or maybe I was just a horrible person who didn't even care about my family.

My feelings aside, it didn't change the fact that they had been murdered. The single act of a petty devil, unwilling to accept his pride being damaged. But even still, I couldn't seem to gather any hatred for Riser. I felt melancholy, like I had lost something, but that was all. I just couldn't hate the arrogant fop.

He would come to justice. Once Rias' problem was taken care of, I would ensure that Riser was held accountable for his crimes. Not as revenge for my family, but because he needed to be stopped.

Swallowing, I used my one good hand to turn the wheelchair around, facing away from the destruction. "Let's go home, Kioko-chan," I said with a lump in my throat.

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

It was Sunday night, and Kioko was hopefully already asleep. She'd relaxed somewhat after I didn't seem interested in leaving the house or contacting the peerage, but I still didn't want to risk that she would keep me from what I was about to do.

Easing out of bed I quickly put on the jeans and t-shirt that I'd prepared previously, slipping on a pair of Kioko's sneakers that I'd found in the closet that seemed to fit me, if a bit snug around the toes and instep.

Making my way out of bed with only faint wobbling, I eased open the window as far as it would go. I cast a look behind me, partly to check if Kioko had arrived and partly out of guilt. Was it really right to keep this from Kioko? But this was above me and I couldn't drag her into it. What if Riser targeted her next? (Would I cry for her?)

No, this was for the best. I hoisted myself onto the windowsill and held onto the side on the window tightly, looking down at the three story drop below and feeling a sense of vertigo in the pit of my stomach. And Issei had been thrown up this distance and still made it through a half-open window?

I was still trying to gather my courage when the door behind me burst open, hitting the wall with a loud bang. "Kado-kun!" Kioko cried out, standing in the doorway in a set of pink cotton pajamas embroidered with small cats and samurai. Huh, interesting choice.

Smiling softly, I spoke barely loudly enough for my girlfriend to hear me across the silent room. "Thank you. And I'm sorry." (For everything.)

Then I jumped, ignoring how she screamed my name behind me as I sent a pulse of energy to my back, flexing muscles that I didn't have. With a sound of tearing cloth and an uncomfortable stretching feeling, I could feel two bat-like wings opening up and catching the air above me, slowing my fall and angling it into a steep glide.

It wasn't much, but it was enough. Retracting the wings a short way above ground level my speed picked up again and I landed in a roll. I immediately hopped back to my feet and started to run, trying to block Kioko's cries of fear and pain from my ears. This was for the best.

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

"Are we really not waiting for him, Akeno-senpai?" Asia asked weakly, looking at me with those large green eyes of hers. I resisted the urge to ruffle her hair and instead gave the girl the best smile I could muster. "Kado-san is still trying to recover, remember? We can't try and force him to come with us when he's still struggling to get over what happened."

Asia looked dissatisfied, but I could see a hint of relief in her eyes as well. So she still kept her distance from him then. I couldn't exactly agree with their tense relationship, but it really had nothing to do with me.

I was moments away from igniting the magic circle that would take us to the wedding in the underworld, the door to the clubroom slammed open, Kai Kado standing in the doorway and panting heavily, a faint sheen of sweat on his forehead. "Am I… too late?" he gasped, looking up.

Feelings warred within me for a moment. Shock, anger, amusement, worry, and a faint bit of jealousy. But that all fled as I saw his eyes, filled with fiery determination. This devil, this boy, had lost his home, his family, and his hand in a single night. And a week later, and he still couldn't manage to give up.

Something within me whispered soft thoughts about how much _punishment_ he'd be able to take with that kind of tenacity. I squashed it down, instead twisting the corner of my mouth into a smirk. "Just in time, M-kun."

The boy simply rolled his eyes and stepped onto the platform in the space that Kiba and Koneko made for him, accepting the small girl's half-hearted punch with a rolling of his eyes. Compared to the rest of our formal clothes he looked almost comically out of place with a pair of worn jeans and a t-shirt with two holes in the back by the shoulder-blades. Yet I couldn't imagine him wearing formal wear.

"Hey, where's Issei?" Kado asked, recognizing that he wasn't on the platform with us. I pretended to stumble forward on my high heels, intentionally pressing my chest against the back of Kado's head for an instant before straightening up and responding. "Sirzechs-sama said that he would be coming at a later time. Something about a 'special event.'"

As Kado turned to face me I carefully studied his expression. Not a hint of embarrassment or a blush. He was focused enough to resist my little distraction then. As I weathered the complaint about high heels with a teasing smile, I felt a bit more hope rise within me. If the weakest one of us still had hope, then how could I give up?

M-kun's protest broke off into a sharp yelp as I triggered the magic circle and sent us falling through dimensions.

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

I staggered off the teleportation pedestal, feeling my breath catch for an instant as a sharp pain radiated out from my chest, the feeling of a dagger pricking my heart. Whatever was giving me pain during teleportation seemed to be getting worse. I may have to find a different way to get into the underworld next time.

Kiba clearly noticed my pain, placing a hand on my shoulder and giving me a worried expression. "Are you all right?" He asked quietly, leaning in closer.

Just as he asked the pain faded and I was able to straighten my back and give a smile. "I'm fine, Kiba-san. Nothing much." I probably should tell people at some point, but this really wasn't the time.

The knight didn't seem to fully believe me, but gave me a nod and quickly regained his smile, walking off further into the room and quickly disappearing behind a large man with two large horns protruding upward from his forehead.

…Huh?

Panning my vision out, I took in the room I had just barely arrived in. It was a large hall that I would have believed was a French cathedral if someone had said so. Large stained glass windows lined each wall of the building, radiating sparkling light down on the myriad guests that were attending.

Over the last month and a half I'd gotten used to thinking of devils as being almost-human, or at least looking like they were, but this room seemed to prove every one of those beliefs to be false.

The room was filled with people in smart-looking suits or sleek evening dresses in a variety of colors from purple to brown that combined with the stained glass windows to give the room the feeling of a kaleidoscope. To further the confusion, each guest I could see was sporting some kind of demonic attribute. Horns, tails, forked tongues, and I even saw one tall man with a blood-red trident grasped in his hand.

At the far side of the room, on something that looked almost like a balcony with two staircases leading up to it, one on either side, several people stood, some of the only people that I saw without devil features. They were distant, but I could make out Rias standing at the front of the balcony with a plastic smile on her face, wearing a long red dress with white gloves that conspired to show almost nothing but her neck upwards.

The other occupants of the balcony seemed to be Rias' equally red-headed relatives, including the male that I had met at the clubroom, and Riser and his also blonde relatives. I couldn't see Ravel up on the balcony, but there were two men and a women standing with Riser. I idly wondered if they had been a part of the plot to kill my family or if it was all Riser's doing.

I looked away with a sense of dissatisfaction, knowing that I couldn't do anything right now. But it still burned inside to know that Rias was stuck up there against her will and about to marry someone who had already broken the devil laws. I knew that I didn't have any proof though, so I couldn't use his crime to annul the marriage.

Now wasn't the right time to try and force a confrontation anyway. I'd have to time it just right so that Riser wouldn't have the opportunity to refuse. And Issei was really the only one who could beat Riser, so I had to wait for him to arrive anyway.

Something tapped my shoulder twice and I turned around to see Akeno standing next to me. She leaned in closer and whispered into my ear. "Incidentally, you're supposed to register when you enter the underworld. So congratulations, M-kun, you're officially a fugitive of the law."

Saying that, she pulled back and gave me a teasing wink before walking off into the crowd and leaving me alone, Koneko having left as soon as we arrived. Just fantastic, now I had to make sure that I didn't get arrested by the devil police while trying to rip apart a decade-long engagement.

Sighing, I slapped my cheeks a few times to raise my spirits, drawing some attention at the action, and walked further away from the teleport pad, hoping I could at least stay out of the public eye until the wedding took place.

Naturally this meant that in five minutes I was loitering around the refreshments table, trying not to stand out and utterly failing due to my more… casual clothes as opposed to the majority of the guests.

I refused to let myself be ashamed though, keeping my head high and lightly picking at something that I thought was fish from off a small plate I was balancing on my right arm. At least I hoped it was fish. Anyway, I was a part of Rias' peerage and belonged here, no matter what anyone else said.

Popping another tiny fish-thing in my mouth, something bumped into me from behind and knocked me temporarily off balance. It wasn't enough to make me fall, but the small plate I was holding tipped forward and a few of the small snacks fell off the plate and hit the floor with a wet smacking sound.

Heaving an internal sigh I turned around to see whatever it was that hit me and came face to face with a teary-eyed girl about a head shorter than me, wearing a black dress that seemed like it was made for someone at least half her size.

Her eyes were looking at my face, but she kept glancing down at the ground and back up rapidly, her hands twitching nervously in front of her chest. "U-Um, excuse me…" She really didn't seem like the kind of person who would intentionally run into someone, judging by how it looked like she was about to cry.

Taking pity on the girl I stepped back, sliding the plate I was holding off my arm and onto a nearby table. "Are you alright, miss?" I was supposed to be a guest at this fancy party, right? I'd better act the part. (Always pretending. What's real?)

The girl let out a small sound of distress and scooted back a few steps, still looking incredibly nervous, like a small rabbit. She didn't say anything, but I could practically hear her apologetic thoughts from where I was. Actually, now that I could see her fully, I couldn't see any kind of devil traits. No wings, no horns, no trident. Perhaps she wasn't as high in the social structure?

I was fully prepared to leave it at that and head somewhere else for the evening, since a few eyes were starting to point in my direction already. Holding back a sigh I turned away and prepared to find somewhere less conspicuous.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing, bumping into my girl like that!" A deep voice with a hint of nasality rang out from behind me, forcing me to stop in my tracks. Great, an overprotective boyfriend misjudging the situation and getting carried away. With any luck I can resolve this and slip away before too many people notice what's going on.

Carefully clearing any signs of exasperation from my face I turned around just in time to see a large man with two horns shaped like hooks protruding from his forehead push his way through the crowd to reach where I and the girl were standing. The man towered above me by at least a half-meter and was wearing a deep green suit with a matching tie. His hands seemed to be the size of my head and had cleanly trimmed nails despite looking like they could easily rip me apart.

The man stalked forward, his footfalls shaking the floor slightly as he stepped in front of the featureless girl, who hid behind the large man, peeking out from beneath his arm with a scared expression. The man folded his beefy arms and gave me an angry scowl from far above me. "Did you hear me, boy? What do you think you're doing?"

By now more heads were turning to the scene, drawn by the large man and his shouting. I wished I was back home for a moment, but shook it off. I needed to be here, and I just had to deal with this as quickly as possible.

"I apologize, sir, but what happened was an accident and I had no harmful intentions towards your girlfriend." I ended the statement with a short bow, just a slight inclination of my torso as a display of apology.

"Yeah right, like I'd believe anything a filthy _human_ says."

My back straightened slowly, my gaze rising until I was craning my neck back to look the devil in the eye. The devil had taken another step closer while I was looking away, forcing me to look up even farther to meet his blue eyes, twinkling with dark amusement.

"Excuse me, sir," I said carefully, not looking away. "But I am a devil and a member of Rias Gremory's peerage, and I have-"

I was cut off by the large devil's booming voice, his head swiveling from side to side to cast the noise even farther. "A member of her peerage? You mean the noble who's getting married because she couldn't even put up a fight in a rating game?" He laughed, a deep booming thing with an undertone of cruelty. At the sound, the girl hidden behind the man's back shrunk back even farther, whimpering slightly.

Oh. So that's how it is.

A larger crowd was growing now, gathering around the little drama in a loose circle, their murmurs creating a backdrop to what was apparently the most exciting event in the room at the moment. Across the room I could even see the devils gathered on the balcony beginning to turn this way. I got the feeling that Rias wouldn't be happy once she noticed that I was the one involved.

Taking a step forward I looked up almost completely vertically, doing my best not to blink and break eye contact. "So basically you took offense at my presence and decided to come over and embarrass yourself by making fun of someone weaker than you." The girl bumping into me was probably a setup as well, giving him an excuse to start a fight.

The whispering surrounding us increased in volume and density, a few words such as "disrespectful" and "brat's got guts" slipping through the muddle of words. I was more focused on the devil in front of me, his face reddening with anger and the horns growing from his forehead becoming longer and more curled. Could the devil attributes be linked to emotions?

"What are you saying to me, kid?" The man growled, leaning down close enough to my face that his horns poked my forehead. The man seemed angry but that dark amusement was still lingering in his eyes. He had every confidence that he was in control of the situation, seeing me as nothing more than a pest.

That was devil culture, wasn't it. Rule of the strong. They had laws, civilization, but beneath all of that might made right. They were ruled by a Maou, weren't they? The strongest devil? And that made me bottom of the food chain as a low-ranked reincarnated devil without any kind of special ability _and_ missing a hand. In this kind of culture, I was dead meat.

"I'm saying that I'm not afraid of you and I think that you're an idiot for wasting both your time and mine to insult someone that you don't know." The curved tips of the horns were pressing into my forehead now, trying to force my neck to bow.

The muscles in the devil's arms were bulging, stretching the material of his suit slightly as he tried to intimidate me. "Even if that is true, what are you going to do about it, _human?_ I'm surprised they let a _worm_ like you in here." He pointed down at the floor where the fish-things had spilled earlier. "Why not get down there and lick up the mess you made like you were meant to do."

No matter how much I wanted to punch him in his stupidly large face, I couldn't do a thing. I was still too weak to use any magical strengthening without tearing my body apart, and that was my only actual way to fight. Without that, I was helpless. But why should I have to? "I'm not going to do anything," I said bluntly. "I have no reason to fight you and I'm not immature enough that I can't deal with mindless insults."

The devil's arms finally unfolded, the huge meaty hands stretching towards me. I fought to keep myself still, maintaining eye contact and keeping my arms by my sides. If I was attacked, I was in the right and some kind of security would step in. But if I attacked and got thrown out, then coming here would be a waste in the first place.

The heavy hands moved closer before slowing to a halt millimeters from my arms. The devil lifted his head up and looked to the sides as if only just now noticing the surrounding crowd that he himself had gathered.

Then he began to laugh, this time a lighter tone without the underlying cruelty of the last one. He straightening up and I mentally sighed in relief as the pressure let up from my neck, allowing me to face downwards. The man took a step back as he laughed, gesticulating widely with his arms. "Isn't this fantastic, everyone? Even a crippled child shows no fear!" He laughed again, reaching around to slap me on the back with a giant hand that sent me stumbling forward with the sheer force.

The man had clearly decided that he had gone too far and was trying to save face. Apparently the act was enough though, and as the man walked away without a backward glance with the girl hurrying after him, the rest of the crowd began to disperse, each managing to find their own conversations as if they had gathered by happenstance instead of being collected.

As the surrounding devils slowly scattered, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end and I got a feeling like someone was watching me. Slowly turning I found my gaze drawn towards the raised balcony where I locked eyes with Rias' relative from the clubroom, his calculating blue eyes meeting my own and sending a tingle up my spine even from the distance.

And as I watched, almost pinned in place, the man gave me a slow nod before turning away, the tingling feeling fading away as he laughed at something another red-haired woman on the balcony said. What was up with that?

Tracking my gaze across the balcony I noticed Rias standing next to Riser and leaning out on the balcony railing with a look of fuming anger on her face. I didn't know whether it was meant for me or for the other devil, but I gave a casual wave towards my king before turning away, hoping to find somewhere quiet I could hide out for the rest of the evening.

But before I could move, Koneko was by my side and grabbing my arm with a firm grip as Kiba seemed to materialize from the crowded masses of people with the same smile on his face, Akeno right on his heels, Asia lingering a short way behind and apologizing to a guest as she accidentally bumped into them.

"Well, M-kun, you can't even go ten minutes without causing some kind of scene, now can you?" Akeno asked airily, planting herself at my side opposite from Koneko, winding a thin arm around my own and squeezing tightly.

Kiba came around to stand behind me and leaned in closely to my ear. "That was Lord Foras. He's well known for his ability at crafting elixirs and enchantments, but also sees humans as inferior. You may have made a powerful enemy." I nodded in understanding, but Kiba stayed where he was, a half step behind me.

Asia was the last member of our little party and seemed lost for a moment before a look of determination came across her face and she affixed herself to Akeno's other side, gripping the black-haired devil's hand with a tight grip.

I looked around at each of the members of the peerage in confusion. I understood why they might come and ensure that I wasn't embarrassing Rias, but why were they sticking so closely to me? "Uh, guys," I said, trying to extricate my arm from Akeno's grasp. "You can step back, you don't need to- woah!"

My left arm was jerked harshly and I realized that Koneko was walking over to the refreshments table while still holding my arm, dragging me and the rest of the peerage with her, Kiba still a step behind me. "If you're going to get food, at least let go of me first," I whined and was promptly ignored.

Deciding to plead to Akeno next I turned my head and affixed the beautiful devil with a plaintive expression. "Akeno-senpai, could you…" Akeno was staring innocently at me even as her arms tightened around my arm until it felt like it was being held in a vice.

"Yes, M-kun?" Akeno asked with a guiltless tone of voice. "Can I do anything for you?"

"Nope, nevermind," I said with a sigh, turning away. It was already a lost cause. Once Akeno got that look on her face there was no chance of being able to reason with her. She probably took pleasure in my confusion anyway.

By now Koneko had made it to the food table and was eying the food with a speculative eye. Looking back at my arm, which she still had an iron grip on with her hand, I realized with a slight sense of satisfaction that the girl wouldn't be able to both hold a plate and eat with only one hand. She would be forced to let go of me to enjoy her snacks, freeing my slightly from the prison of flesh I was currently in.

Koneko cast one last gaze over the food-filled presentation before slowly turning her gaze to me. "…I'm not hungry," the girl said with a look of blank long-suffering that said she was anything but.

I nodded slowly before leaning down as much as the tight grip on both my arms would allow. I looked straight into Koneko's eyes and said as seriously as I could, "Koneko-chan, are you sick? Do you need anything?"

The small girl gave me a deadpan look before turning away from both me and the heavily loaded table with a small huff, yanking my arm in a different direction towards an elaborate set of stained glass windows on the nearby wall.

As I was being dragged away, Akeno and Asia being dragged behind me like the tail on a kite, Kiba leaned in again, still just behind me. "Lord Foras also has connections in the human underworld, and it's believed that he has his hands in human trafficking businesses."

Yes Kiba, thank you for that exposition that simply made me even more nervous. And if the guy is this bad, why are you all sticking so close to me! Shouldn't you be trying to get more space so that you won't attract his attention?

I tried to subtly maneuver my arm from Akeno's grasp, but had to swallow a yelp when electricity shot through my arm, rendering it numb and limp in Akeno's grasp. The devil gave me a pout that was clearly fake. "Do you really hate me that much?" She asked, tucking the handless arm even closer to her chest.

Kiba's breath was on my ear again and I resisted the urge to rub the sensory organ on my shoulder to try and get rid of the weird feeling. "The girl that was with him was probably a human he brought in from earth as a show of power, to make him seem even stronger."

A loud groan left my mouth at the thought that this would be what the rest of the night was going to be like.

But I still couldn't keep my gaze from tracking along the crowd as we passed, looking for a teenage girl in a black dress following a large devil in a green suit.

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

The party had officially moved into the wedding stage, the guests that had previously been milling around like a colony of ants now gathered in straight lines. There were no chairs, save for a few elaborate pieces brought in by elderly-looking devils. The majority of devils stood though, waiting patiently for the proceedings to begin.

Comparing this to my new knowledge of the devil culture, sitting down would be seen as a sign of weakness. But at the same time, an old devil calling for a chair was a sign of prestige and strength. That they were strong enough to live long enough to be weak. That they had survived.

This assumption was verified moments later as Kiba spoke up from his apparently designated spot behind my right shoulder. "There are no chairs since sitting down would mean they were too weak to stand. But experienced devils use them to prove their age and how long they have lived."

I held in the urge to snap back at the smiling male and just breathed a sigh. "Yes, thank you, Kiba." The peerage had stuck by me the entire time, only one person leaving for a time and someone else taking up their spot while they were absent. I hadn't even been able to use the restroom without Kiba happily humming a meter away.

It was almost enough to make me scream. That and the fact that Issei _still_ hadn't shown up? Seriously, where was the guy? Did I even have a chance against Riser without our resident god-slayer around?

Currently we were positioned at the front of the room, on the far left side. Apparently, as Kiba had so _delightfully_ informed me as we made our way to the appointed location, this meant that we had a relation to the bride, thus being closer to the front, but weren't important enough to be in the middle.

So far as I could tell, Kiba was the appointed info-dumper, informing me on anything and everything from devil etiquette to how to dance with only one hand. Not that I was ever able to with my hanger-ons.

Koneko took initiative when it came to location, dragging the group from one area in the room to another at apparently random times, making sure we never stayed too long in one place.

Akeno administered "discipline" whenever I tried to escape, making sure I knew they weren't going anywhere and numbing my arm at regular intervals.

Asia didn't seem to have as large a part as the rest but she was still present and had gone so far as to grab my shirt at for a short while when Akeno left for a short time.

I would love to see what Rias thought about what was happening, but she had left shortly after the altercation to prepare for the upcoming wedding, accompanied by her family and leaving Riser, already wearing a tuxedo, to wait along with his family.

The time had finally come though, and a loud wave of polite clapping arose from the crowd around us as the Issei fanboy led the wedding procession from a door on the far side of the room and brought them to the balcony stairs in a slow but straight line.

My hands were still ensnared by my peerage members so I wasn't able to applaud with the rest of the crowd, but I wouldn't have anyway. The rest of the peerage seemed to feel the same that I did, a small bubble of silence surrounding those who truly supported Rias.

There were no bridesmaids like in a traditional wedding and instead of wearing a ceremonial kimono, Rias was wearing an elaborate white dress that looked to be of western make with frills and lace ballooning outward from her unusually small waist like a bell. The final touch was the white veil laid over Rias' face, hiding her true expression from the observers.

This wasn't supposed to be Rias, this was supposed to be a doll. A doll with the Gremory name for Riser to use and discard once he was done. There was no love in this marriage, just lust, greed, and despair.

By her side was a red-haired man and woman, each one holding one of Rias' arms and with big smiles on their faces, her father and mother most likely. I couldn't tell if they were there for support or to make sure that she didn't run away, but their smiles seemed to be real at least.

I decided that I hated them.

The wedding train slowly wound it's way up the balcony stairs, until each member was standing at the top in full view of the crowd and the audience's applause had finally died down into a stale silence.

Rias' relative that I had met at the clubroom was wearing a large black cloak with shoulder pauldrons the size of my entire torso projecting away from his shoulders like a set of armor plating made for someone at least twice his size. As the man walked forward to the front of the balcony I could catch flashes of a pure white tuxedo beneath the dark cloak.

Upon reaching the railing that lined the balcony, the man cleared his throat and set off into a clearly scripted speech. "The houses of Gremory and Phenex are very pleased today to welcome you all to the wedding of Rias Gremory, heiress of the house of Gremory to Riser Phenex, scion of the house of Phenex. We have been gathered together to celebrate this joining of two souls both deeply in love and…"

I tuned out of the speech with a sense of disgust, instead wondering why it was this man directing the wedding instead of a priest of some sort. Well, I could guess why there wasn't a priest since he would probably be impaled on the spot, but why this guy? I wrestled with my confusion for a moment longer before reluctantly leaning back and quietly whispering to Kiba, "Hey, who is that guy who's talking?"

Kiba's face held a look of surprise for a moment before flashing back into his default smile. "Well, I suppose we never did explain it to you. That man is Rias' brother, Sirzechs Lucifer." I nodded in understanding and was about to lean forwards again when Kiba continued. "He is also a Maou and the strongest devil alive."

My head jerked around to face Kiba in a move that probably stretched a muscle and earned me another surge of electricity coursing through my body. I ignored the familiar numbing sensation to stare at the knight with wide eyes. "You mean _that guy_ ," I hissed loudly, "is the leader of the devil race?" Pieces were clicking together, like why the ninja maid knew Rias and how she managed to get a rating game set up so fast.

There was definitely more than a glimmer of amusement in Kiba's eyes as the knight nodded sagely, a serious expression on his face. "Oh yes. He's rumored to have fought two of the archangels and Azazel at the same time to buy enough time for a battalion of devils to escape enemy lines." Kiba lowered his voice further and leaned in even closer. "They say that he _eats_ humans, you know."

My reaction must have been what the knight was hoping for since he leaned back again, softly chuckling with his eyes closed. Jerk. Rolling my eyes and trying to subtly shake the pins and needles from my right arm I refocused on the official proceedings, viewing the still-monologuing man in a different light.

So the underworld was ruled by an Issei fanboy? How had they even managed to survive this long? And why hadn't he gotten rid of the contract if he that much power then?

I decided I hated him too. Honestly, was Rias the only decent member of her entire family?

The speech was apparently beginning to wrap up by now, the long-winded waste of space finally finishing his overly-long speech. "-and now as we are gathered to wed these two together in unholy bonds of matrimony, I would ask if there are any who wish to challenge the groom for the hand of the bride." Huh, that was new.

On cue, Riser stepped forward with a smug smile on his face, looking down at the gathered crowd scathingly. Apparently the words were a mere formality, much like the "any objections" line in a standard wedding. Something remaining from tradition that wasn't expecting to actually be used. Riser already believed he had won.

That just meant I had to prove him wrong. My arms were still pinioned by Akeno and Koneko so I couldn't raise them, but I took a deep breath and shouted "I challenge Ris-" My pronouncement was broken off by three pairs of hands slapping my mouth closed and being treated to glares by each and every one of the peerage members surrounding me, even the unusually angry Asia.

It was enough though and heads had begun to turn in our direction, devils looking for who had dared to speak up during the ceremony and ruin such a grand occurrence. My own gaze was locked on Riser's eyes, drained of their arrogant look and instead filled with a burning hatred for me, who had dared to ruin his perfect day.

Even behind the grip of three different palms, I could feel my grin stretching into a harsh smirk as I glared back. I wouldn't let him have his way. I might be broken and beaten, but I was still going to oppose the arrogant brat with everything I had. Next to Riser, I could see Sirzechs with a intrigued look on his face, his eyes giving me a lingering look.

Then my declaration was completely overshadowed as a heavy booming sound rang out from the back of the cathedral accompanied by a loud "I object!" from nobody else but our resident pervert. He'd made it in time after all.

I let my body slump down and relax, listening with one ear to Akeno quietly chewing me out at drawing attention to myself and Kiba's recital of how exactly a challenge for the hand of the bride would go, including rules for an honor duel and how my life was basically forfeit if Riser had agreed. But I was more focused on Rias, on her hands folded over her mouth in what was undoubtedly a sign of relief, her legs shaking beneath her as she saw her savior.

Happiness and satisfaction filled me at the fact that Rias could feel hope, that she was willing to bank on Issei saving her. But simultaneously, I couldn't help the surge of self-deprecating bitterness that rose up inside me. I hadn't been able to bring that hope, or even give her the chance of being saved. In the end, I was simply relying on Issei for everything. But I could endure that, so long as she was saved. That was all that mattered in the end.

Riser's attention had turned to the back of the room and towards Issei, but now he looked merely annoyed and frustrated instead of murderous. "Must we do this?" the blonde devil asked bitterly, looking towards Sirzechs. "The offer is a mere formality and this marriage has been set in stone for over a decade."

Sirzechs, the Issei fanboy that he was, had a big grin on his face and only seemed to be paying a bare modicum of attention to Riser, gazing fixedly at the back of the room where Issei was. Still, he was aware enough to respond to the question. "The clause was never removed from the wedding oaths, so it is still valid. You must either accept the challenge or forfeit your marriage to the contender."

Riser growled lowly from where he was, muttering something under his breath. "Very well then," the arrogant devil proclaimed loudly, beginning to shuck off the outer layer of his tuxedo. "Since this peon has dared to oppose me, I shall accept his challenge and show him his place." The lines sounded almost scripted, a facade of arrogance.

In the next few minutes the guests were evacuated from the building onto the wide grassland outside the cathedral to see the upcoming fight between the Red Dragon Emperor and a member of the Phenex family. I had been dragged along behind Akeno and Koneko, both of which had yet to take their hands away from my mouth as if I would try to challenge Riser again.

As our small group exited the large building, the first thing I noticed was the deep purple sky above. The time should have been close to midnight, but there were no stars, simply a blank color like the end of sunset. Where were we that the sky looked like this?

The cathedral wasn't in any kind of city, but was instead positioned in the middle of a large flat field of grass that seemed to stretch for kilometers in each direction before large mountains rose up to block the sky in each direction. It was like we we at the bottom of a deep bowl.

The two combatants lined up at opposite ends of a long stretch of empty grass, about twenty meters separating the two. I was situated about halfway between the two, but had been forced farther back by the press of the crowd, larger or more powerful devils carving out a place for themselves that pushed back the smaller devils.

But even from farther back I could still hear Sirzechs announcement for the start of the battle and see the giant gout of flames erupt into the air before bearing down onto the other side of the impromptu ring like a tidal wave. A flash of cold washed over my body and I felt a stinging pain from my right hand as I saw the bright orange flames.

 _Run!_

I shook my head to rid myself of the lingering memories, the palms still clasped over my mouth rubbing against my cheeks with the movement and ending with another surge of lightning from Akeno at the perceived escape attempt, dulling the pain from my nonexistent hand.

Looking back up I could see a black shape with brown hair and devil wings shoot into the sky, avoiding the flames before hovering in midair, buying time to increase his number of boosts. Then a pillar of flame rose up from beneath him and Issei was forced to dive to the side, quickly losing altitude to dodge the searching flames.

The battle continued like this for a time, Issei in the air and dodging multiple tongues of flame while steadily increasing his speed as he accumulated boosts. Finally Issei zipped over to the side of the battlefield where the flames were coming from and disengaged his wings, entering into freefall with his arm cocked back and ready to throw a punch before he fell out of my field of view, the taller devils in front of me blocking my sight no matter how much I tried to crane my head to look over or through the mass.

A deep booming sound rang out across the landscape and I felt like ground shake beneath me like we had just suffered a small earthquake. A moment later both Issei and Riser rose into the air, Riser looking none the worse for the wear but with a sleeve of his dress shirt missing, torn away at the shoulder and with great wings of flame burning from his back.

"Why must you continue to get in my way!" Riser spat, bringing his hands together and producing a large ball of flame before shooting it off at Issei, clipping a wing before Issei could get out of the way in time.

Issei managed to regain control, shouting back "What do you mean, fried chicken! I'm doing this for Buchou! Why can't you just let her be happy!" Charging in again with a roar and another boosted punch, Issei dove for Riser but missed as the blonde devil flew out of the way, floating to the left on his fiery wings.

"Who cares about her!" Riser said, spreading his arms and wrapping his arms in almost white-hot flames, flying in to attack Issei directly. "Just leave me alone! Stop getting in my way!"

Issei took the attack on one arm, a flash of blue signifying his defensive ability before dealing a heavy blow with his left arm that caved in Riser's chest, a splash of red quickly consumed by yellow flame. "I refuse! Buchou is Buchou, not someone you can treat like a toy!"

"You're not listening!" Riser screamed, projecting a burst of flames from short range and forcing Issei to back away. "I don't care about Rias! This isn't about the marriage anymore!"

Uncrossing his arms and blasting away the flames with a burst of wind pressure, Issei dove back in and unleashed another punch on Riser, blasting the devil back. "Then why not let this go! Just let Buchou go back home!"

Riser caught himself on his large wings after a few meters, this time hovering in place instead of going on the attack. "I can't do that! Then Ravel would have died for nothing! This is all for her sake!" Issei visibly flinched, halting his attack and casting a worried look towards where I was standing at the back of the crowd.

There was a ringing in my ears and I could feel a headache beginning to pound at the back of my skull. Riser was… saying something, wasn't he? What was it? I groaned and tried to get an arm free to cradle my aching head, but I was still being tightly restrained from all sides. (…up!)

The world seemed muted now, the fight continuing on far above my head while my hearing slowly filled with static and the shouts and impact of flesh on flesh slowly grew more and more muted. I could see Akeno's face, looking into my own with a worried expression and trying to say something I couldn't hear. (…ke up…) Koneko was tugging at my arm and I could feel Kiba leaning in closer over behind my shoulder, but I couldn't focus on any of it. What was Riser saying? It was important, something about the battle? Something about the rating game?

(Wake up!)

The world cleared, the noise in my ears and the pain in my head vanishing as if it had never been there at all, even as everything seemed to crumble around me, dropping me deeper into darkness.

Ravel hadn't been on the wedding balcony. My clothes and phone had been destroyed when I woke up. Asia had mentioned healing me before taking back her words. Ha, as if a dimension could reverse death. It was almost laughable, really.

"Don't listen to him!" Akeno was saying. No, pleading. Fear in her eyes.

"For a Phenex to fall in battle is a great dishonor," Kiba was whispering into my ear.

"Fried chicken is a liar," Koneko mumbled, tugging on my arm again.

Asia didn't say a word, but her eyes were locked on mine and they were filled with guilt.

 _Oh_ , I thought almost absently, feeling my legs buckle and only staying upright due to the firm grips on my arms and shoulders. _They lied to me._

 _I killed someone._

The abyss in my chest gaped it's mouth wide and swallowed me whole, a mouth tearing me apart from the inside until I was nothing but a shell. I didn't resist as I felt myself become empty, my soul consumed. This is what I deserved, after all.

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

 _In a space_ _of time_ _smaller than the blink of an eye, the void consumed the red, leaving nothing but the blankness of Nothing. The shell, the shield, cracking and dissolving, a faint red string leading into the distance flickering faintly before blinking out entirely._

 _This time there was no observer._

 _Just Nothing._

 _And Everything._

* * *

End AN: So yeah, a couple things happened. Stuff was revealed. Yeah.

First up, _yes_ Kado is being pretty heartless. But it's not all his fault. Just a bit. More supernatural stuff happening here that should be answered next chapter. Because I really can't let the guy have a break, can I?

Why is Kioko acting so weird? More questions that will be answered soon!

And just in case someone didn't get what was up with the peerage during the wedding, they were basically acting like bodyguards to make sure that nobody tried to attack Kado or insult him for being a low-ranked devil.

This chapter also wraps up something that I've been trying to lead up to for a while. Ravel is dead. Rating games act the same way as in canon for the most part, so pieces are teleported back to be healed if they take sufficient damage. But the arbiters hadn't pulled back Ravel in time due to the belief that Phenexes were invincible. So when Ravel's magic ran out and couldn't heal her anymore, she died before she could be retired. You can be healed, but you can't bring back a life that's been lost.

Way back during the training camp, Rias basically hypnotized Kado to believe that deaths and injuries would be healed so he wouldn't hold back on the opponents. It was a sound move tactically, but it didn't take into account what would happen if Kado ever found out.

This also hopefully explains why Riser went so far to get revenge. Kado didn't defeat Ravel, he _killed_ her. And for someone who is both an arrogant devil and basically immortal, that was something that Riser had never expected to happen or even imagined that it could. For him, this was justice. He was simply returning the damage that had been dealt to him. Doesn't mean he did the right or even the just thing, but it wasn't like what Kado did was much better, intentional or not.

The last thing is about the italicized sections. That's something that I've been slowly building up to throughout almost the entire story and should be made clearer soon. I think I might have dropped too many hints along the way, but I also think that I might have come across something that I honestly haven't seen anywhere else. I just hope it doesn't all blow up in my face.

Hope to see you all next chapter for Kioko's reaction to Kado getting messed up once again.


	18. Sayounara Hiro

AN: This is the shortest chapter that I've written in months, but it was still a push to get it all out during finals. (Wish me luck by the way, my last ones are tomorrow.)

Thanks to everyone who's read this story and supported me along the way. I'll see you at the end.

Warning: Character Death

Disclaimer: I don't own Highschool DxD in any way, shape, or form.

* * *

There was a change in me that I could tell as soon as I woke up. My eyes snapped open instantly as I realized that I knew every organ, every cell of my body. Everything seemed to be running the same as it usually did, but I now had perfect knowledge of every beat of my heart, every pump of my lungs in a way I couldn't recognize previously.

With this new awareness, I could easily tell that two things had changed. One, the pigment in my eyes had shifted slightly, changing from a dark brown into a deep black like the bottom of the sea. Endless.

The second change wasn't something physical. My body was working perfectly, every muscle and organ pulsing in time to a rhythm I could only now see. But underneath the surface, something was crawling, slithering inside me and tugging each piece into place. It squeezed my lungs to make them deflate and gave my heart the energy to beat. Each and every organ inside me from my skin to my marrow was separated, only connected and functioning as a whole by this hidden force.

It felt like I was a hollow shell, a puppet only moving and functioning due to the force pulling the strings behind me. But that was enough so long as I was alive and could keep going. I tried to sit up from the bed I was laid out on and the body worked perfectly, smoothly obeying each command as if I was the one giving them.

I took a few experimental steps and there were again no problems. It seemed like whatever had control was willing to let me handle things for now. I didn't know how long that would last, but there was no sense in worrying about it. "Now," I mused, looking around the room I was in, "where am I?"

It wasn't the old school building, I could tell that much by the fact that I couldn't spot any skulls or pentagrams on the walls. It didn't seem like Kioko's apartment either though, with rough cement as the floor instead of the wood and tatami I had gotten used to in the last few days.

Frowning, I took a longer look at my surroundings. I was standing in a room that was much larger than expected, at three times as tall as I was. The closest wall was still meters away, while the rest of the room seemed to stretch out infinitely into darkness with square pillars of cement supporting the ceiling above me. Apparently the devil night vision could only stretch so far.

Looking back at the bed, there was almost nothing there. Just a single small fold-out bed with a thin mattress spread out on it that looked almost like a prison cot.

Sighing, I scratched the back of my head and took one last look at the cot, the only sign of humans in sight. There was no reason to stay here, so I might as well go somewhere else. "Well, I'd better get walking, shouldn't I," I said out loud, just to fill up the silence. It almost felt like I was in a tomb with how quiet everything was.

As I started walking I thought about what got me here in the first place. "Last I remember I was at the wedding," I mused out loud. "Issei and Riser were fighting when Riser mentioned that Ravel was dead."

Oddly enough I didn't feel a sudden surge of guilt at the mention. Actually, I didn't really feel anything. "I killed someone," I said into the darkness, my voice echoing off into the distance. Nothing.

"I murdered a good person and broke every principle I had." Still not a twinge of anything, whether guilt or pain. Just calm acceptance and a subtle annoyance that I was so hung up on this. I honestly wasn't sure if that was from me or from whatever force was letting me move. And was there even a difference at this point?

"Kioko," I said, thinking of how I'd basically proposed and how she'd accepted. My girlfriend, who loved me and I loved her. At least, I thought I did. Now recalling her face just made me think that she really was attractive. Nothing more.

Well, I suppose that my eye color wasn't the only thing that had changed. "I should probably be panicking about this," I calmly stated, lightly running my fingers along the side of a nearby pillar and feeling the rough texture beneath my fingertips. "But I really don't care that much." It seems like I've lost my emotions. That's new.

As I continued to walk, slowly trailing past pillar after pillar with no visible change in scenery I made a game of it, saying a word or phrase to try and evoke a reaction. I didn't expect anything from it, but it was something to do. At least I could still feel boredom. I wasn't sure if that one was a blessing or a curse.

"Home."

"Mother."

"Riser Phenex."

"Rias Gremory."

"Himejima Akeno."

"Math."

"Magic."

And so on. By the time I had run through everything to do with my home life, school, and the supernatural world, I had been walking for over five minutes. Luckily enough, I had discovered something. When pronouncing "God" as part of the supernatural section, I didn't receive a sharp headache like I had previously. It was a welcome change but not much more than that. I was still a devil, I just didn't have some of the downsides like before. I guess that was nice.

Eventually I reached the other side of the room, another concrete wall. Really, how original. Shouldn't they throw in something else, if just for the variety? At least it was some kind of landmark. Still no doorway, but there had to be a way out somewhere. I set out again, this time walking parallel to the wall, lightly running my fingers across the concrete surface.

"Come to think of it," I muttered out loud, "how did I get down here in the first place?" That really should have been a question I was asking earlier, but it didn't seem that important before. Even now it was more of something to consider than a question that must be answered.

Well I obviously didn't walk here on my own after I passed out from… learning that I killed someone, I guess? Seriously, what was up with that? I was pretty sure that wasn't a normal reaction to that. Maybe more screaming or something.

Anyway, someone had to have brought me here. And set me up on a nice cot as well. Courteous of them. I guess that means that they didn't think I was dead at least. Probably wasn't Rias or anyone else from the peerage either, they would have brought me back to the clubhouse. Same thing for Kioko.

Huh, wonder if I had been kidnapped. If I had, I guess they didn't expect me to wake up or they would have contained me somehow.

So to summarize, I blacked out and was kidnapped by someone who likes me, knew I was alive, but didn't think I would wake up.

Yeah, that wasn't helping any.

Giving up entirely on that train of thought, I blinked as I realized that my fingertips had stopped feeling the rough texture of the wall and instead felt like they were brushing against burnished metal. Stopping and looking to the side, my hand was placed against a large square door made of aged-looking metal at least three meters tall and the exact same width. What would need a door this big to go through?

Regardless, a door of any kind meant an exit, so I needed to figure out how to get through it. Examining the door proved that there wasn't any kind of handle, just two metal plates pushed together hard enough to make a seal, not even enough room between them for my remaining fingers to slip through. A look around the outside didn't reveal anything either, no control panel or "open door" button.

I slipped down into my magic with practiced ease, only for my metaphysical hand to not grasp anything. Where once there had been a core housing my magic, now there was nothing but a blank void. Frowning I retracted the hand and came back to myself. Alright, that made a third thing that had changed. Apparently I didn't have magic now and I really should be more upset about that.

Heaving out a sigh I was prepared to leave and search for another exit but something made me stop in my tracks. Whatever force was keeping me going had just taken control. It was eerie, watching placidly as my body smoothly turned and stood in front of the thick metal door while I was trying to walk away. Again, I should probably be scared, but nothing came.

Instead I was just intrigued. What did the mysterious force want? What made it take control? So I sat back and relaxed, metaphorically, as my body stretched forward it's left arm and attempted to squeeze my fingers into the paper-thin crack between the two pieces of metal. I raised a mental eyebrow at that. Hadn't the force already seen me try that? Apparently it wasn't very smart.

As if it had heard my thought, I felt a faint twinge of annoyance again, this time directed at the doors before me. I just wanted to leave this place, why was this stopping me? As if getting mad at the door would do anything. Honestly, why was annoyance the only emotion the force or I seemed to be able to feel?

Then I felt the muscles in my arm twitch, the puppetmaster flexing them in a way they weren't meant to be. I could feel power flowing through them, like when I used my magic strengthening technique, but instead of a light, it was like shadow seeping into every atom of every molecule of every fiber of my left arm, staining it black.

The shadow seemed to flex, like it was cracking it's knuckles before attempting a difficult task. Then my fingers dug into the crack and begun to bend the material, enhanced muscles tensing as whatever had control pumped in enough power to literally bend metal.

Soon enough a series of divots deep enough to hold my fingers had been made, the force pushing my digits into them before taking a firmer stance and pulling to the side. Slowly the metal door began to move, a sound of shrieking and bending metal ringing out from above me as one half of the large door inched open millimeter by millimeter. As the crack widened, I could see more concrete beyond that was angled upwards at a slope. Did that mean I was underground?

Eventually the gap was wide enough for my body to step through, planting itself on the other side and dusting off my palm on the stump of my right arm with a satisfied air, the increased strength of the shadow slowly seeped out of my body and left me with the usual devil strength.

Then I was in control, the force happily complying as I took a step forward up the slope toward whatever was above. Like I hadn't just lost total control of my body and been a total observer to something else manipulating my every movement. Well, these things happened, I suppose. Either that or I just didn't care. Yep, definitely the latter.

"What do I call you?" I said out loud, advancing up the incline. "I've been calling you a force, but it seems too generic for whatever you are." There was no response. "So you don't care?" I asked rhetorically, nodding. "Yeah, I can work with that. It still seems a little weird though." I shrugged, not entirely sure why I was doing this except to fill up the time. "Think of it as gratitude for helping me out of there then."

Tapping a finger on my chin I considered for a moment. "How about Emsee? That's pretty general." Again, no response. Not a twitch. "Eh whatever then. I'll just call you Kyoko," I said with what was supposed to be a satisfied air. "That way I can tell Kioko I named you after her." I took the resulting silence as agreement. Honestly, could there be a worse conversation partner?

"Here we are," I said brightly as we reached the top of the slope. "Back to civilization." It was dark, with a gibbous moon hanging overhead and a few stars shining through the air above the city. It probably hadn't been too long that I was asleep then. Either that or I'd just managed to sleep for days and just woke up at the wrong time. Eh, not like it really mattered.

"Now where am I?" I mumbled, looking around to see if I recognized my surroundings at all. The buildings close to where I was looked abandoned, with crumbling signs and faded paint. Either that or the owners were just too poor to pay for repairs. Wandering over to a nearby building that might have been an office building at one point, I squinted to try and make out the faded words painted onto the door. "Kashiro's tax and bill," I read out loud. Nope, didn't recognize it. Well that just meant I was farther out than I usually went.

Stepping back I stretched my arms up into the air, letting out a deep groan as I felt something pop. "No sense standing around here," I said out loud. "Now which way to the closest restaurant?" I was in the mood for something to eat. I could always find Kioko and the rest later.

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

Not for the first time since the devils' return, I felt for the connection I used to have to Kado, now just a gaping hole where comforting warmth used to be. This was their fault too. Just like everything else. (He changed.)

Currently I was sitting on Kado's bed, the bed that I bought for him to stay in while he was practically comatose. The same bed that I had carefully taken care of my boyfriend in for days, feeding him and cleaning him. We were happy then, just us two without anyone else. (Even His family knew to stay out of the way.)

But then the Issei boy broke in and ruined all that. My hands clutched themselves into fists, clean sheets squeezed tightly between my fingers. After that Kado was more concerned with Rias and her stupid engagement than he was with me, even after how much I'd cared for him. (Ungrateful, but still whole.) Honestly, I wished that the red-haired witch had gotten married, instead of being rescued by her perverted pawn. Maybe then she would have been forced to let Kado go.

Either that or been strangled to death as a child. Then none of this would have happened, and Kado would be- (Beautiful…)

I forcefully ended that train of thought, tucking my knees into my chest and burying my face into my knees as if to block out the world. "Don't think about it, don't think about it," I muttered repeatedly, trying to avoid thinking of anything. He was alive. He was alive, that was all that mattered. All that mattered, even if he didn't-

Against my will an image of Kado's body, limp in Issei's grasp, rose to the surface of my mind. And most horrid, his soul was visible to the Sight and was painted a deep rotting black. A putrid mass that almost caused me to take a step back when I saw it. Kado's soul was… gone, leaving whatever that was in it's place. (Not dead, so much worse.)

Abandoning my huddled position and throwing myself to the side, I grabbed a pillow, the pillow that Kado had used for almost a week, and screamed into it. It was a scream of rage and fear, that I would never see my Kado again and that Rias would get everything she wanted. How could she be free and so happy when my boyfriend was on the verge of a fate worse than death? (She deserved to due, not Him.)

It was all I could do to prevent myself from killing the selfish girl when I saw her, making doe eyes at Issei and barely leaving his side. How could she be happy when Kado was in so much pain? (When I was in so much pain?)

So I took care of him myself, hiding him away where nobody would hurt or use him again. (Always safe, just me.) I'd take care of him myself and make sure that he recovered, that he would be able to live and smile again as himself, not the living corpse enslaved to an arrogant princess that he was right now. (He had changed. I would fix him.)

The scream tapered off into something that was more like a whine and I finally stopped to breath, pulling the pillow away from my face and rolling over so I was facing up at the ceiling above me. It was white and bland, with not a single decoration.

But Rias hadn't died, and she wasn't married off to a person even worse than she was, more the pity. So she would be coming for Kado. Someone that selfish, that greedy, would never be satisfied with letting him go. She would insist that Kado was hers and wouldn't ever stop. Kado would never be safe from her. (He was only safe with me.)

The only solution was to sever the connection. Cut the cancer out and leave it to rot, saving the remainder. From what I knew, Rias dying would label Kado as a stray devil, which would at least set him free. And it would even prevent Kado from ever returning to the supernatural.

Sitting up on the bed, my mood was significantly brighter as I started to imagine how this course of action would play out. If Rias died, the peerage would split up, getting rid of the last thing holding Kado here in this foolish town that couldn't appreciate him. We could go on the run, just us two. I could protect him, using runes and wards like I had been taught. Nothing was stopping me. (Not even Him.)

"Yeah, that'll work," I said out loud, slipping off the bed and looking around for my shoes. In half an hour, all my problems would be solved. It would just be me and Kado again, with nothing else to hurt him. (He would be mine again.)

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

Rias sighed, still clearly exhausted, and relaxed deeper into my side. Her posture looked incredibly uncomfortable, but the red-haired beauty had a look of pure bliss on her face. I was in bliss too, her large assets pressing against my chest with the softness of a thousand clouds.

I wanted to stay there forever, but some of the looks Koneko were giving me from across the room had me worried for my life. "Buchou?" I began softly, "Shouldn't you go sleep in a bed?" Kiba had created a sword and was miming slitting my throat with it, while Akeno tittered behind her hand, clearly amused at my predicament.

The girl leaning against me on the couch cracked open one eye and glared at me sluggishly. "Don't you dare, Ise-kun." Ise-kun? Since when did she call me something so intimate? "I'm comfortable where I am." She pouted up at me, still looking sleepy but with a definite teasing undertone. "Besides, don't you _like_ me where I am?" As if to emphasize her words she leaned in even closer, intentionally pressing her breasts against me.

Gulping, I glanced at Kiba, now advancing on me with _Light Eraser_ in his hand and a deadly look in his eye. "It's incredible," I answered honestly, "But you shouldn't be so casual around me. I might get the wrong idea."

My gaze was still fixed on the knight steadily moving towards me with murder in his face. Akeno and Koneko weren't doing anything either, happy to stand back and watch me suffer. Asia was the only one who seemed upset, watching the proceedings with a pout on her face, arms folded and her eyes fixed on Rias.

"So you like it then," Rias said, matter-of-factly.

"Well yes, but-"

"Then I don't see any reason why I should stop," Rias said as if that ended the discussion. And I would be happy to let her stay that way, but I was pretty sure that my king's body pillow would be dead in a few moments judging by the look on Kiba's face and the fact that he had two _Light Eraser_ _'s_ in his hands now.

"But it's late and you should rest," I protested weakly, fighting to keep my hands raised away from my body instead of descending down upon the girl. "And you just got away from the engagement, so you-" a piercing pain came from my left eye, like one of Koneko's eye jabs but a thousand times worse. I instinctively brought a hand down to cradle the eye socket, hissing at the sudden pain.

A second later a soft hand encircled my own. "Let me see it," Rias said gently, carefully prying away my defensive hand. I obligingly opened the eye, wincing again as the light sent a second shock of pain through the delicate organ.

Rias was in front of me, no longer looking teasing as she seriously investigated the eye, lightly pressing a hand to it before a soothing feeling began to radiate from her hand. I sighed in relief as the pain finally faded. "Thank you, Buchou."

The president nodded but didn't pull back just yet, her smooth hand lightly circling my eye with a distant expression on her face as her gaze was fixed on my eye. I averted my face, looking away and closing the eye again with an ashamed expression on my face. "Sorry, Buchou," I muttered. She probably thought I was ugly now, ruined with that thing in my face.

Soft hands found my cheeks again and my face was forced up to meet Rias' understanding blue eyes. "Don't apologize, Ise-kun. You got that eye protecting me, so don't ever be ashamed of it. Be proud of your sacrifice, since it shows how much of a good person you are." This time when I averted my face it was flushed with embarrassment, not shame.

" _Sorry, partner."_ A voice spoke from my mind, faint pulsing from my left arm proving that it was Ddraig talking to me. _"I'm still getting adjusted to having a real eye again. It'll hurt for another day or two, but it should settle down after that."_

"Thanks, Ddraig," I said out loud, causing Rias to lean back slightly with a disconcerted look on her face. "Ah, sorry," I apologized, returning to where I was. "What were you… saying…"

Unluckily for me, returning to the present also meant that I had to acknowledge the grumpy knight standing in front of me with two swords drawn. Across the room I could see Asia struggling in Akeno's arms, the queen still fufufu-ing through all this. "Any last words?" Kiba asked brightly, his usual ramrod straight smile fixed on his face.

"Mercy?"

One sword slowly raised above Kiba's head, the boy's smile unchanged. "Denied."

The door opened slowly and Kioko entered the clubroom, pausing on the threshold with one eyebrow raised, perusing the room. "And this is?" She asked out loud, eying Akeno still laughing while restraining Asia, Koneko eating candy like she was watching a movie and Kiba looking like he was about to kill me.

I laughed sheepishly, lowering my arms slowly from shielding my face. "Well… It's a long story?" I really didn't want to have to explain to my friend's girlfriend that Kiba was about to kill me for perving on my club president. When that didn't seem to dissuade the girl any, I attempted to change the subject. "So, why are you here?"

Last time I had seen her, she had grabbed Kado's body from my arms, screamed something about how we'd killed him, and rushed out of the room without looking back. She seemed like she'd calmed down by now though. I did hope that Kado was alright, but Kioko seemed oddly… possessive of the boy.

Kioko laughed with just a hint of stiffness in her tone, making her way to the same couch I was on and planting herself on the opposite side of Rias, slumping down in a way that seemed too casual for the girl. "I just thought that I'd come back and see how you were doing. You did lose an eye beating Riser, right?"

My eye reflexively rose up to touch the eye in question, but I forcefully lowered it back down. "Yeah, I did," I said morosely. I hadn't exactly lost it, the eye was still right where I left it, the eye just… wasn't mine anymore. I'd sacrificed it to Ddraig while fighting Riser to get a huge burst of power for a split instant, one punch overloading Riser's regeneration and forcing the boy to be carried off for medical attention by his parents.

And the cost for victory was my eye. I couldn't see out of it anymore, though I still had good depth perception, another perk of being a devil. It wasn't that different now, just that I couldn't wink without accidentally blinking. In a few days, Ddraig would be able to see out of his new eye, but for now it was useless to both of us. But what stood out most was the eye's new appearance. It was gold, fading to red at the outside of the iris, with a slit pupil that was bright green and vertically traversed the entire eye. It looked wholly alien and would forever be proof of what I had given up.

"Well you seem to be fine now," Kioko said brightly, not noticed the slightly dour attitude in the room. "After all, you're getting all cozy with your rescued princess right in front of me." Realizing that Rias was still pressed into my side I tried to stammer out an excuse while slightly scooting away from Rias, hoping that would end it.

Rias was having no part of that though, scooting right after me and making sure that she was still attached to me like a wet t-shirt. This wasn't a problem for me, but Kiba had started to smile again and one sword was slowly beginning to raise into the air again, a dangerous glint in the knight's eye.

"And what about you, Rias?" Kioko asked, still oblivious to the developing situation happening right under her nose. "Not three hours ago and you were going to be married to someone who didn't care about you at all. Now you're so close to your pawn that you won't even leave his side for an instant?"

That comment caused Rias to blush, but the president rallied admirably, sitting up slightly straighter and nodding back with a straight face. "Yes, it was a stressful situation, but I had faith that the peerage would work together to rescue me."

Kioko clapped her hands in admiration, her hands wide in awe. "Really, that is very impressive. How were you able to keep hope up despite your awful situation?" It almost seemed like there was a hint of bitterness in her voice, despite the honest look in her eyes. Was there something going on here that I wasn't noticing.

"And you believed in your entire peerage? But wasn't Issei-san here the only one that actually fought for you? Isn't that why you're sticking so close to him?" Her comments were casual, but it seemed like the entire room was hanging on her words for some reason.

Rias cleared her throat, seemingly caught off guard by the question but responding with a grace and poise that seemed so characteristic of her. "Well yes, but the rest were there to support me and I know that they were just as willing to fight for my freedom as Ise-kun was." Her grace was slightly ruined by collapsing back into my side once her sentence was finished.

The blonde human seemed to accept that, nodding with a genial smile. "Yes, and it is good that the peerage is all here to celebrate your freedom with you."

The girl nestled into my side looked uncomfortable at that statement, and I was too. Kado was part of the peerage as well, so why was his own girlfriend discounting him like that. Rias never got the chance to speak though, since Kioko wasn't finished yet. "The entire peerage but Kado, that is," the girl finished with a stiff smile.

I relaxed, leaning back in the seat at that. It would have been really awkward if I had to remind Kioko of her own boyfriend's existence. Although, was it just me or did that phrasing seem oddly hostile? Still, this was the perfect opportunity to ask about Kado since his own girlfriend had brought it up in the first place. "By the way, how is Kado doing," I asked as nonchalantly as I could, keeping my eye on Kioko just in case she seemed to get upset at the question.

Kioko shrugged as if the question or her boyfriend's state didn't bother her at all. "Oh, he's doing fine. Same as before, really. Hard to see much improvement when your soul is gone, after all."

My gaze was frozen on Kioko's uncaring smile, still leaning back on the couch. "That's… that's a joke, right? Right, Kioko-san?" Rias had sat up by my side with a look of horror on her face. The rest of the room had gone eerily quiet, every member of the peerage entranced by this one human female.

The girl hummed lightly before responding. "Nope. Not at all. So I'm just going to do whatever I can to protect him while he can't do it himself." Well that sounded like a promising statement, but why did it send shivers up my spine?

"Even… the things he _won_ _'t_ do," Kioko said, her head turning slightly. A lock of hair fell in front of her face, cutting through the suddenly blood-red eye staring back at me. "And since Riser lost, this is my only option."

My devil instincts blared with panic and I instantly grabbed Rias by her shoulders and pulled her with me as I fell backwards off the couch. Rias barely dodged Kioko's grasping fingers as they missed the back of her' shirt by bare millimeters before the human had to pull back to avoid losing her arm to Kiba's blade.

There was stillness for a moment, Rias lying on top of me on the floor while Kiba had his second blade pointed at Kioko's throat, his first one buried in a cushion that his swing had punctured. Behind us I could hear thumping and some kind of rustling, presumably the other members of the peerage preparing for combat.

Amid all this, Kioko seemed perfectly calm, still sitting on the couch with a steady expression, alien red eyes staring out at us from her familiar face. The girl heaved out a sigh, clearly disappointed. "And this could have been so easy…" Kioko glanced down and caught my eye, a disappointed look in her burning gaze. "Couldn't you just let me kill her?"

I didn't know why she was trying to kill Rias, and I didn't care. I was going to protect my king no matter what this would-be assassin tried. I couldn't move, Rias still on top of me, but I glared back with as much determination as I could. "That's never going to happen."

Kioko sighed again, a tone of sincere regret in her tone. "A pity." Something tensed in the girl and Kiba reacted instantly, his blade stabbing down towards her throat while he let go of the one embedded into the couch, freeing up a hand.

Kiba's attack was instantly deflected as a knee came up inhumanly fast, redirecting the arm so it skimmed past Kioko's shoulder as an elbow came in for a punishing blow on Kiba's nose, throwing his head back.

I didn't stick around to see more than that, hoisting myself and a shocked Rias to our feet and running for the door. I passed by Akeno with magic already in hand and waiting for an opportunity and Koneko with her pink cat gloves strapped on, the two stepping in behind me to block Kioko's path, a sign of support. Asia seemed conflicted but eventually ran after us as well, knowing that she would be virtually useless in combat.

As I ran down the corridor towards the stairs, I called out to Ddraig. "Ddraig, can I use the boosted gear yet?" The response was instantaneous, with sincere concern in the tone. _"It's still down for the count, partner. You overloaded it earlier and it won't be able to do much of anything for another few days."_ I cursed out loud and pushed myself to run faster, still dragging Rias behind me.

Stampeding down the stairs I pushed through the front doors and ran another ten meters before deciding it was probably safe enough now, slowing to a stop and looking behind me. The old school building looked normal from here, with no external signs that there was a crazed killer on the rampage inside.

"Ise-kun?" Rias said softly from behind me. "You can let go of my hand now." Looking back I saw that Rias still seemed shaken from her near brush with… whatever Kioko was going to do to her, but her eyes were stern and determined. Buchou was back.

I nodded, letting go without a word and turning back to the building in front of us, eyes scanning the windows for any sign of combat. Asia pulled up by my side, her face flushed and eyes wide. "Why did Kioko-senpai attack Rias-senpai like that?" the ex-nun asked, her voice tinged with fear.

All I could do was shake my head. "I don't know, Asia-chan." Why were her eyes red now as well? Could there be something wrong with her? Was she being controlled somehow? I spoke my thoughts out loud, still on half-focused. "Could this be a last-ditch revenge from Riser?"

Rias stepped up by my side, her gaze focused once more and ready to take charge. "Doubtful. The Phenex clan doesn't have a particular skill with any kind of mind-bending or possession techniques. Though there are many other groups that would have reason to send an assassin against a member of the seventy-two pillars."

"What's this about an assassin?" A sharp voice asked from behind us.

I recognized that voice from the few times we'd interacted before and while normally I would run the other way, she was welcome reinforcements right now. "Sona-kaichou!" I turned and gave the sharpest salute I could, straightening my back and fixing my gaze on a point just above the student council president's left shoulder. Behind her menacing form, I could see the other members of the student council as well, a few carrying wrapped packages in their hands.

"Sona!" Rias called out in surprise from next to my shoulder. "Incredible timing! Something happened and Horikawa Kioko is attempting to kill me. We suspect that she is-"

What she said next was drowned out by the sound of shattering glass, the entire group whirling to see that a window on the second floor had broken and a familiar knight had just exited out through it, the sword in his grasp coming free partway down and spinning freely in the air.

I dashed forward as soon as I caught sight of the body, pushing myself to cross the distance in time. "Kiba!" But even with devil strength I couldn't make it in time, the blonde boy hitting the ground moments before I fell on my knees, skidding to a stop next to the boy.

Kiba was always the one who looked composed, with a smile and a casual grace that made him the "Prince of Kuoh Academy" to the girls and the "Blasted Casanova" to the boys. But now that handsome face was ruined, blood leaking from Kiba's forehead and broken nose, the boy's eyes closed in unconsciousness.

A crunching sound rang out from a few steps away and I whirled around, seeing Horikawa Kioko standing up from a crouched position as she brushed dust off her knees. "How could you?" I accused. "Why would you hurt him like this!" Sure Kiba was my official nemesis, but he wasn't that bad of a guy and he really didn't deserve to be hurt this badly. Not that I would argue to his face getting messed up a bit, but this was going too far!

Kioko raised one delicate eyebrow as she tucked some hair that had fallen out of her usual ponytail back into place. "He was in my way." With a sudden shock I realized that the girl honestly didn't care. The kind girl that was always worrying about Kado and never getting too far away from the boy was gone, leaving this cold automaton in her place. This wasn't Kioko anymore.

My knees were shaking but I forced myself to my feet, positioning myself between Kiba and his attacker with my hands raised in front of me. "I won't let you hurt him anymore." My hands were quivering, knowing that this girl could probably take me to pieces in seconds, but my voice was steady. Kiba might not be a friend, but he was a part of the peerage and I wouldn't let this merciless killer finish what she started.

Said merciless killer gave me an odd look before turning around to face the opposite direction from where I was. "You don't have to worry about that. He's not my target, and he's not interfering any further." With a chill I realized that her gaze was pointed towards where Rias had been standing previously.

"I won't let you harm Buchou either." Akeno descended from above on devil wings, an angry look on her face and arcs of lightning buzzing around her arms. Koneko was close behind her, dropping to the ground without wings, landing in a simple crouch and standing up.

"Rias tells me that you are not in your right mind," Sona said, advancing forward and adjusting her glasses so that they shined opaquely in the moonlight. "But that does not mean that we will allow you to harm anyone here." Around the president were her peerage, spread out in a wide formation with weapons held in their hands and steely gazes.

Kioko turned to take in the scene, her head tilting to the side slightly as a smile flickered around the corner of her mouth. "You seem to be under two misconceptions." She raised a finger, placing her other hand on her hip. "First, I am not being controlled in any way, this is justice for what sins Rias has committed against me." Her second finger rose to join the first, a genuine smirk crossing the girl's face. "Second, what makes you think that you can stop me?"

I whirled, my eyes instinctively finding Rias in the crowd of devils, a ball of destruction in her hands and a fierce look in her eyes. "Get back!" I yelled, knowing that I couldn't make it in time.

In what seemed like slow motion, Rias turned to face me with a question in her eyes as in front of her, Horikawa Kioko materialized from the air, drawing together from nothing in less than an instant. The attacker had a smirk on her face and her arm was outstretched towards Rias' chest, red eyes glowing in the night.

Then Koneko was there, the only one who had trusted my warning and moved instantly, leaping in front of Rias and crossing her arms in front of her body to block the blow. The outstretched hand and defending arms touched… and nothing happened.

Koneko landed on the ground, stunned at nothing happening, while Rias stumbled back, eyes wide from yet another close brush with her attacker. Kioko blinked, looking from her hand to the small white-haired girl and back again with a look of indecision on her face.

Was… was that it? For a moment I was expected Kioko to break out in laughter and say that it was all a practical joke, that she wouldn't _really_ try to kill my king or her schoolmate. Both peerages were frozen in place, stunned that nothing had happened after all.

After that moment of pause Kioko shrugged, as if she didn't care, and remarked "You really shouldn't have stolen his candy." Then her hand zipped forward, moving faster than the small girl could react and resting lightly on the rook's head.

Those red alien eyes flashed brighter for an instant and Koneko fell to the ground like a puppet with it's strings cut, eyes rolled back into her head and with no sign of resistance whatsoever.

"Koneko-chan!" I was yelling before I realized it, in shock, horror, or possibly even fear. What had she done to the girl? It was barely even a touch! As if that was the trigger that shocked the remaining fighters into motion, a barrage of lightning, ice spears, water orbs, and Rias' ball of destruction crashed into the ground where Kioko had been standing a moment before. This forced the girl to leap backwards to dodge the attacks and also landed her back in the circle of devils, hopefully where we would be able to keep her pinned.

Rias stepped forward from where she had recoiled, a furious look in her eyes and another orb of destruction already whirling in her palm. "Everyone, attack!" Over half the gathered devils were of a different peerage, but nobody argued, close-ranged fighters dashing in to attack as a group while the magic users stayed on the outside where they could launch their spells without fear.

Asia and a girl from Sona's peerage with brown braids in her hair dropped next to Koneko's body and started using healing spells. Even with all the confusion I could still see Asia's small shoulders shaking as the familiar glow green suffused her hands.

I felt a moment of hope that this could all end before anyone else got hurt before it was ruthlessly crushed beneath the weight of reality. No matter what the fighters did, they couldn't even touch the murderous girl. Even without a weapon, the blonde human either dodged or deflected each strike with casual ease.

"Rragh! Why won't you just die already!" One girl with red hair and a katana yelled in frustration, bringing her blade around in a wide arc meant to bisect Kioko.

Without even a moment's hesitation, Kioko sidestepped the lunge of a naginata, one hand grasping the haft and yanking the large curved blade into the path of the thin sword and nullifying both attacks at the same time that she ducked low to avoid a high kick by a blue-haired member of Sona's peerage.

As the barrage of attacks continued with the occasional bolt of lightning added to the mix or a change in formation as barked out by Sona, all I could do was hang back by Kiba, watching the battle with a slight sense of awe and wishing I could help. I could beat an immortal Phenex, but I couldn't even help when my friends were being attacked?

"Hey Issei, what's going on?" A dispassionate voice rang out from behind me, barely audible over the clashing of metal and grunts of exertion coming from the battle going on before me.

I managed to tear my attention away from the combat and turned to the figure behind me who was just standing there with a bemused look on his face, hands tucked into the pockets of blue jeans. "K-Kado-san?"

At my exclamation, the battle in front of my paused, although not by the choice of most of the participants. Kioko had grabbed either the haft or the blade of most weapons and was blocking one kick with her own leg, a look of desperation on her face. "Kado-kun?"

The black-haired boy blinked before raising his hand in a lazy manner that seemed radically opposed to what would be expected out of him in this situation. "Yo."

S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S~~~S

Hand in my pocket and a beef bowl digesting in my stomach, I took in the situation in front of me. Right now it looked like my girlfriend was being attacked by the student council and Rias' peerage at the same time. And was actually holding them off, too. Huh, didn't think she had it in her, honestly. Good for her, I suppose.

Just a short way in front of me stood Issei with a lost look on his face, standing over Kiba's unconscious body, blood running down the pretty boy's face and staining his blonde hair red. (Red on gold.)

I tilted my head to the side slightly, taking a closer look. No, the shade really was different. Huh, wonder why this would bring back memories like that when the two really didn't look similar at all. For one, Ravel was _much_ cuter than Kiba.

Past the mayhem of combat that Kioko was wrapped up in, I could also see Rias and Sona standing side by side and directing the combat. I guess they probably wouldn't be able to fight up close since they were more used to magic and leading from a distance. Still seemed kind of arrogant though, not doing any work.

As I watched though, Sona raised her hand and a stream of water coalesced into a whip, before darting forward and attempting to wrap around Kioko's legs. The attack's short life ended abruptly as Kioko crushed it with a single hand, the magic falling apart and the water achieving nothing but getting the ground wet. At least she had tried though.

Moving my gaze slightly farther past the duo, I finally found the last members of Rias' peerage. Asia was kneeling over a still form with white hair next to Reya from Sona's peerage. They both seemed like they were trying to heal Koneko, but even from here I could see that Koneko's eyes were dull and her chest wasn't rising or falling anymore.

I was surprisingly okay with that. She hadn't really done much besides hit me and take my food anyway.

And I was absolutely horrified by that. I couldn't feel emotions, but I could still remember that my reaction was _wrong_ in a way that nothing else could be. I was wrong. I shouldn't exist. And yet I didn't feel the usual soul-crushing guilt that I remembered usually accompanied this kind of event. It was… surprisingly freeing. Still, I should probably do something about this.

Right now though, I wanted to know why everyone was trying to kill Kioko, and why she had apparently killed Koneko. Really, a guy blacks out for a few hours and the whole world falls into Tartarus. I called out to Issei, raising my voice just slightly so he could hear me. "Hey Issei, what's going on?"

At the sound of my voice, Issei whirled around, his eyes wide and frightened. "K-Kado-san?" He almost squeaked. It was actually kind of funny.

At the same time that he called out my name, the battle in front of me came to a halt, Kioko grabbing or blocking all the weapons in a second, her red eyes whipping around to face me. "Kado-kun?" I idly noted that the katana was drawing blood and that the blocked leg was probably going to leave a nasty bruise. At least she'd managed to grab the long spear-thing by the handle.

What seemed most interesting though was the sheer desperation on Kioko's face, mixed with joy, surprise, relief, and a healthy dose of pure disgust. Well that was odd. And what was up with the red eyes? They seemed to be glowing so they probably weren't contacts. Maybe something with her Druid powers that she didn't tell me about. That seemed most likely, after all.

Lazily pulling the hand out of my pocket, I gave a casual wave to show that I acknowledged her. "Yo." That wasn't too different from normal, right? Nope, looking back I would have reacted way differently before… whatever happened. Ah well, too late to go back and try to fake it now. Too much effort as well.

The slight moment of pure confusion was broken by Kioko taking a bolt of lightning to the back of the head, causing my girlfriend to growl and release the weapons she was holding to cradle the back of her head. The battle recommenced almost instantly, with a fist arcing towards Kioko's stomach and a thin rope of water attempting to catch her hand.

Well I certainly wasn't going to get any answers like this. "Oi, quit fighting for a second and tell me what's happening." My voice didn't rise over the sound of battle though and Issei was the only one who actually heard me, although he still seemed too stunned to give a proper response.

Sighing, I asked Kyoko out loud "I don't suppose you'd help?" Again, I got a faint sense of annoyance before something stirred in the force and an oppressive feeling spread out from me in every direction like a slow fog, enough power behind the aura that the grass at my feet withered and died.

It worked though, the battle coming to an immediate halt as everyone's attention was brought to me like a child to the promise of cookies. I even had to duck a small orb of red and black magic that exploded behind me as Rias got a little too trigger-happy at the sudden sensation.

"Now that's more like it," I muttered as I felt the power retreat back into me, the force going inert again. "Now that you're all paying attention," I said louder so each of the gathered persons could hear me, "What happened here? Why are you all trying to kill each other?" I resisted the urge to point to Koneko and add "and succeeding in some cases," but it was a close thing.

There was a moment of hesitance before at least three people tried to talk at once. Kioko sounded pleading but worried, Issei was frantic, Rias was slightly afraid and more than a little angry, while Sona was shaken but still the most collected person out of all of them. Still, I could barely make out any words when they were all jumbled together like this.

I clapped my left hand on my right arm a few times, bringing the clamor to a halt either out of understanding or out of fear of the aura. Really, I needed to get a hand on using that thing more if it made this much of an impression. Out loud though, I directed my speech to Issei. "Right, that isn't helping. Issei, just you talk. Why are you all trying to kill Kioko?"

The response was much clearer this time, Issei understandably angry but holding it back. "She tried to kill Rias! She hurt Kiba and Koneko!" Ah, so he didn't know that Koneko was dead yet. Asia might though, judging by how distraught she seemed kneeling above the body.

Motioning for Issei to calm down, I turned to Kioko and asked her, "And what about you? Why are you attacking Rias?"

Kioko seemed almost hesitant to look me in the eye, instead studying the ground or her hand. "She keeps using you and then throwing you away as though you did nothing!" While her posture seemed nervous, her words were anything but. "Each time, you got hurt worse and worse! This time you came back and your soul was entirely gone! All you have now is that black stuff, like rotting tar. This was the only way to free you, so you could be safe again."

Huh. So my soul was gone then? That actually explained a lot. I basically had an idea of what was happening, but I seemed to be in control here and I had one last question I wanted answered. This time I pointed directly to Rias. "Tell me, why did you lie and manipulate me into killing someone when you knew how averse I was to any kind of death?" She had seen how I protected the stray devil, and yet she still wanted me to fight and kill. I had to wonder why, even if I didn't care as much now.

Rias drew herself up until she was standing tall, looking the perfect picture of an aristocrat if you ignored her messy hair or school uniform. "I had no way of knowing that you would actually manage to kill an opponent, much less an important piece like Ravel Phenex. I simply wanted you to fight at your full potential when something so important as my-"

Sighing, I cut her off, talking over the top of the red-haired devil. "So in summary, you decided that your selfish desires were more important than my selfish desires and so abused your power over me and mind controlled me into doing your dirty work for you."

My statement drew more than a few suspicious glances from the surrounding devils, most chiefly Sona and Tsubaki, although they still looked at me with a wary eye. Something that almost saddened me though, or at least felt like I ought to feel sad, was the way that Issei immediately looked down at the ground in shame and Akeno hunched over slightly defensively. So they had known as well then. I'd had my suspicions, but it was… nice to have them confirmed.

"Right then," I said, stepping forward and passing by Issei and Momo on my way to Kioko. "I think I've made my decision." Not a soul moved to stop me, although quite a few readied their weapons. Whether it was from fear of what I might do or confusion at what was happening, I didn't really know. Or care, honestly. It just made my job easier.

As I passed by the unconscious form of Kiba and the still-stunned Issei, I casually leaned down and picked up a sword dug into the ground next to the duo. It looked like one of Kiba's possibly left manifested when he became unconscious. All the better for me, to be honest.

Coming to a stop on Kioko's right side I caught her blood-red eyes and gave her a faint nod before turning to face the rest of the gathered peerages. They all had betrayed looks with the exception of Asia, still too caught up in her grief, and Sona, who simply had a look of pure disappointment. Squaring my stance I hefted the blade up in front of me, giving a smirk. "Really? What did you expect?"

I wasn't Kai Kado anymore. Kai Kado cared about his friends, he loved his girlfriend and family, and he wouldn't take sides like this. Kai Kado hated death of any kind and would protect strangers with his life. Kai Kado would give or sacrifice whatever it took to reach his own twisted ideal of "justice."

I wasn't Kai Kado.

But maybe I could be, one last time. As much as the broken puppet of a broken man could be.

With a flex of my wrist the short sword held in my grasp spun into a reverse grip, the pommel pulled back to my right shoulder. Without turning I swept the blade out and to the side, continuing the movement until I felt resistance. I kept pushing, the shadowy feeling slipping into my muscles to push farther with more force. Eventually the sword stopped, the western-styled handguard preventing the sword from going any farther.

Releasing the grip of the sword, the artificially created leather clammy from my sweat, I took a step back and turned to see my work. Kioko stood there with a shocked look on her face, a sword buried through her left breast and poking through her back, blood dripping from the exposed tip.

As I watched, Kioko's hand slowly reached up to feel the sword that had pierced her heart, her hand pawing at the handle for a time, unable to correctly work the muscles to grasp it. She wobbled, her footing unsteady, and I stepped forward to steady her. Her head turned slowly, and I looked into her eyes, rapidly switching between red and green like a faulty traffic light as blood slowly seeped from the corner of her mouth.

Kioko looked up at me with a blank expression for a time, before a glimmer of recognition came to her eyes and a faint smile pulled at the corner of her lips as her eyes eventually settled on a dull fading green. "You know," she whispered, coughing wetly as she tried to breath, "There's nobody else I would rather have kill me."

Her eyes faded, growing dark as her chest sank once more before stilling. Blood seeped out of the wound on her chest, dying my white t-shirt a deep red. I stared silently down at the dead girl, the one that I had killed. Maybe I had hoped that I would feel something. Regret, guilt, something. But I was just blank, the same as before.

"K-Kado?" Issei's stuttering voice broke the silence. I didn't bother looking up, still enraptured with the still face in front of me. Inside me I could feel the force stirring, almost like it was wriggling with excitement. This was what it wanted. What was it's end goal? Murder? Destruction? What was I now?

"Kado-san?" a somber Rias inquired. I ignored her again, instead slowly lowering Kioko's body to the ground, laying her down as softly as I could. Once that was done, I straightened back up to my feet and looked at the gathered devils.

Rias looked dismayed but I could see a glint in her eye. This was an enemy vanquished to her, and proof that I was on her side. As my gaze ranged from face to face I was met by either shock, fear, or horror. My searching look finally ended on Sona's face. Instead of the various forms of surprise that seemed to be on the remainder of the devils, her deep gray eyes were filled with pity.

As if that helped anything. Stretching lightly, I held the sword out in front of me, switching it back to a standard grip with another flick of my wrist. Just one last thing to do. I didn't know how much control the force had over me, but here was to hoping it wasn't nearly as much as I feared.

Giving a bland smile, I loudly announced "For any of you who are squeamish, this is the perfect time to find something else to do." Without waiting to see if any of them actually listened I swung the blade around once more, bringing it around in a small circle with as much speed as I could.

The blood-stained metal tip arced around at eye level, coming closer and closer until it dipped below my vision and I could feel a burning stinging aching pain from the right side of my neck as the sword bit into flesh.

The force inside of me flailed in something akin to panic, freezing my limb as fast as it could even as I could feel the shadow leaking out through my neck and fighting to seal the deep cut. But by now the sword was halfway through my neck, and though it wouldn't go farther I was sure that was enough.

Never losing the bland smile I made eye contact with Rias and as one last action of defiance, waved my stump in the air like I was saying goodbye before my body collapsed to the cold ground. It wasn't really her fault, but something in me couldn't help but make one last dig at the girl.

 _Goodbye._

* * *

End AN: Part 1 Fin.

I've honestly had this in my head for months now, and I seriously cried when I first realized how this was going to end. I feel like I didn't get all the emotions I wanted to out on the page properly, but I guess I still had it easy. I hope that if you guys didn't cry like I did, you at least felt something. (Unlike Kado, poor guy. I really just can't leave him alone.)

And to lay this out there, this fic is temporarily **complete**. The story is not ended and I have way more ideas for this messed up universe that I created, but I have other fics to write and I'm moving for college and summer stuff in two days, so I need a bit of a break. I don't know when I'll come back to this, and I honestly can't promise that I will. That's why I pushed so hard to finish this now, so there is at least some kind of closure for you guys.

As for stuff that actually happens in this chapter, I finally feel like I can share some of the stuff I've been selfishly adding to the background to you readers. When thinking about the devil magic and how it relates to desire, I almost instantly connected it to the Great Red. Devil power comes from the Great Red and his jurisdiction over desires and dreams. And where does the Great Red get his power from? In my insane head-canon, from humans.

Devils are humans desires.

Angels are their ideals.

Fallen Angels are their cynicism and jaded beliefs. Broken ideals.

Other pantheons are created by humans beliefs as well, their guesses as to what caused the weather and other phenomenons of the world.

There's a bit more stuff I made up as well, but those are the main bits.

And so if Great Red handles the devil part of things, it probably isn't too hard to figure out what the black not-devil stuff is...

Again, in my head-canon Rias cares for her peerage. She really does and doesn't want to see them hurt or dead. But she's also a pure-blooded, devil, a noble, and has a brother who would be perfectly happy to spoil her. She's used to getting what she wants and while she did leave that lifestyle to live a simpler one on Earth she still has a hard time letting go of some of those old habits.

Ah, and about Koneko. Yeah, that had been planned for a while, part of why I had Koneko mess with Kado so much. For Koneko she was taking from the weakest member and she got free stuff. For Kioko, she was hurting and stealing from her boyfriend.

Speaking of Kioko... at the end, she really wasn't rational. Kado was hurting and she was hurting. She'd seen him get hurt again and again and felt him pulling more and more away from her each time. Her thought process seemed rational on the surface, but honestly going from jealousy and worry to murder in a few minutes is a bit more than a simple leap of logic. And underneath it all, I don't think that she really did ever let go of her attempted suicide.

Keep in mind that from the beginning, I knew that this wasn't going to be a romance, it was going to be a tragedy.

Small note, Kiba's alive, he was just unconscious from the fall.

I don't want to drag this on for too long, but if you have any further questions then drop me a PM or a review and I'll usually try to get back to you within a week.

See you next time.


	19. Red and Black Nightmare

AN: Hey there, just a tiny chapter to somewhat bridge the gap between the first part and whatever I write afterwards. This is canon though, not an omake.

Timewise, this happens a few weeks after the last chapter, and the week before the Excalibur Arc commences.

Disclaimer: I don't own Highschool DxD, and by now have completely messed up the world that Ishibumi created.

* * *

The construction had been completed weeks ago, adding yet another towering monument of glass and steel to the ever-growing modernization of Kuoh. It was probably an office building of some kind with some late-night work still being accomplished judging by the orange glow emerging timidly from high windows, too shy to illuminate the night further than a few inches. Lamps turned low and computer screens constituting the world of the office worker.

The street had been repaved, the previously cracked path smooth once again after one too many people complained about uneven footing. The new tarmac was black enough to almost gleam in the day and be nearly invisible at night, with only the feeling of solidity beneath shoes proving that it was there.

The street lamps were still dark, though. The street was rarely used in the nighttime, and excuses could always be made as to how the funding could be put to a better use in the sewers, or a new high rise, or in one of the numerous discreet deals that dotted the political world. And so the street stayed dark, unchanged from months ago, when an electric failure in the system had caused the bulbs to shatter. The stray glass had been removed, and the tall poles cleaned and made ready for new lights and wiring, but for now the street was far darker than it should be.

Shirashiki Kyoko wasn't quite sure why she was here. It was just a late-night coffee run, picking up some caffeinated fuel for her workaholic father. It was just supposed to be a quick trip down the street to the nearby vending machine and back. But somehow she'd gotten turned around in the space of a city block, and was now walking down a dark street that was nowhere close to her family's apartment.

Perhaps it was the wind throwing her off. It seemed to have an almost whispering quality to it as it whistled past buildings and through small gaps, creating a susurrus of faint noises and sounds that sounded almost like voices if she just listened that much harder… before it slipped away, leaving behind fairytale promises in her ears.

So maybe it was the wind, leading her along to places unknown. But that still explain how she had gotten so lost, or why she was standing in the middle of the road to stare at a strange man with ragged clothes and a burning hunger in his blue eyes that threatened to swallow her whole, the can of coffee still warm in her hand.

Baring surprisingly clean-looking teeth that almost gleamed in the darkness, the man shambled forward, nursing a damaged leg as he neared the girl. "So. What brought you here, little missy?" It didn't sound like a question despite the inflection, but Kyoko found herself answering anyway.

"I think it was the wind." Kyoko immediately flushed, snapping her mouth closed and turning away in embarrassment. Why did she say something like that? He was going to think she was weird now, and what if he decided to leave? She didn't know why the thought of a stranger leaving her seemed to fill her stomach with a churning feeling.

The man looked taken aback for a moment, before he flashed a bright grin, inadvertently intensifying Kyoko's blush as he closed the distance between them to a meter. "Well if you say that the wind brought you here, then I'm inclined to believe you, missy." He suddenly stopped with a frown on his face, causing Kyoko to feel a pang in her chest. Was it too weird after all? Had she done something wrong?

Looking around and raking a hand through his hair, causing it to fall in just a way to frame his intense blue eyes, the man lowered his voice and asked, "Did it… say anything to you?"

Kyoko hesitated, trying to think of the right answer, but eventually shook her head. "No, nothing that I could make out clearly." Inwardly, she felt panicked, nervously brushing specks off her red sweater and resisting the urge to fiddle with her hair. Was that what he wanted to hear? What would she do if she had gotten it wrong and the handsome man left?

But the man seemed to regain his cheer at that, bestowing her with another smile that made her heart flutter before beginning to stride towards her as quickly as his injured leg would allow. "Oh, that's good! It means that you're pure! That makes you even better!"

Kyoko turned away to hide the furious blush making it's way across her face and to her ears, trying to pretend she wasn't as affected by the stranger's simple compliment as she actually was. Pure was the last thing that her classmates or family would call her, usually preferring terms like "fiery," "bossy," or "passionate" if they were feeling generous. And she was fine with that. She'd rather be someone that people had to take note of than a plain housewife that people could easily ignore.

But somehow, a few words from this man had made her feel like being pure was all she wanted in her life, whatever it meant. That she would do whatever she could do be pure. Trying to shove those feelings down deep inside her, Kyoko gave up on hiding her face and turned back to the man with a genuine smile. "Well thank you very… much…"

He was right there, face to face with her, and for the first time, Kyoko could see that his hair was the dark brown color like new wood or old leather, and his blue eyes were bright enough to almost glow, even as his grin made something inside her melt. And his smell, a combination of the sea and fresh ink, made her feel like she was home. She barely noticed how his bad leg was periodically dripping some liquid onto the road or how his clothes were wet and slightly sticky with an unidentifiable substance that smelled faintly like iron.

The can of coffee fell from limp fingers and hit the ground with a clang, rolling slightly before coming to an eventual stop.

All Kyoko could see was blue eyes and white teeth that were steadily getting closer. And she wanted that more than anything, more than being pure. Unconsciously, she found herself leaning in and closing her eyes, apprehension and excitement building in her chest.

"I don't want to ruin the moment, but that guy's about to bite your head off."

Kyoko didn't care, happy to let whoever was interrupting watch what was about to happen, but the stranger felt differently, quickly backing away. Kyoko let out a sigh of disappointment as she felt the warmth of his body retreat, suddenly feeling colder than she had in her entire life. Opening her eyes, she whirled around to give the intruder a piece of her mind. "Can't you see that we were in the middle of something! Why can't you go and-"

She blinked, feeling like she'd somehow just come back to herself as she finally put a name to the face in front of her. "Kioko's boyfriend?" Well he wasn't anymore, not after Kioko mysteriously disappeared the month before. Beside her, she could feel the stranger shifting uncomfortably and her heart gave another pang, this one of guilt. This must be harder for him than it was for her, being interrupted right when they were so close.

A boy with straight black hair and brown eyes stepped out from under the shadow of a wall, just enough for the residual light to illuminate the cold expression on his face. "Seriously, I really don't care either way, but it's a hassle, so I just want to make sure that you know what you're getting into." He was wearing a scarf above a short-sleeved shirt and jeans, despite the warm weather.

So he didn't trust her to make her own decisions? Was he trying to push her away from who she was already with? Kyoko almost growled, stepping protectively in front of the stranger. "Just leave us alone! Go walk into an electric line and die or something! This doesn't-"

"That's enough." The man she was trying to protect spoke up, his voice forceful enough to send chills up Kyoko's spine. She immediately clammed up, stepping to the side and trying to sink into herself. She had disappointed him! She wasn't pure at all, she was tainted and dragging his own pure soul down with her.

The stranger stepped forward, even with his injury still dripping onto the ground, this time moving in front of her in a reflection of their positions a moment ago. He spoke, and for a moment Kyoko thought she could hear the wind again. "I'm not going to hurt her, can't you tell? I'm just an ordinary man out for a late night stroll." Kyoko poked her head around her protector, wanting to see the scene unfold.

Kioko's ex-boyfriend turned his head up to the large building to the right, apparently ignoring the stranger. "You know, I don't know why I came back here," he said out loud, his voice still cold, uncaring. "Regret? Not anymore. Some kind of nostalgia? Not likely. Maybe…" His voice trailed off, leaving the final possibility unsaid. Not that Kyoko cared, she just wanted the jerk to go away so she could be alone with the injured man again.

"Yes, but why did you come here?" The man said, his voice straining slightly as he took a step forward, as if reaching for something that wasn't there.

The dark-haired student slowly turned to look back at her protector before shrugging casually. "Let's call it fate. Luck, Destiny, Wyrd, Inshallah, Qadar, the Moirai, Niyati, Yuanfen, or whatever you will. In the end, it doesn't really matter." He looked up at the building again, his voice growing soft enough that Kyoko could barely make out his words. "God is dead, after all."

"How do you know that!" The stranger hissed, taking a step backwards as he seemed to defensively curl inward. "How did you find out! Who are you!" What was he talking about? Why was he so worried? Kyoko started to feel nervous, apprehension rising up within herself. She wanted to go, to leave the strange boy who was making the stranger so worried, but didn't dare to try and grab his attention and risk disappointing him again.

The teenager —Kai Kado, that was his name— just tilted his head, not even looking at the upset man. "Ho, so I was right after all? And to think it was simply a guess. Or fatalism, or experience, or a multitude of things." He chuckled, mirthlessly. "Perhaps I am simply much smarter than I give myself credit for. In the end, it doesn't really matter."

"Heretic!" the stranger screamed, his voice scratching at the sudden volume as he took a step forward, then another, until he was running, still screaming, towards Kai Kado. And leaving Kyoko all alone, shivering at the sudden cold she felt and hoping that the stranger hurt or killed the teenager, whatever got him out of the way so that the stranger would come back again.

Kado sighed with the blank expression still on his face, tilting his head to the left and reaching up to pull down the scarf, exposing his neck. Kyoko almost gasped as she saw what was hidden beneath the sheltering cloth. A long scar, pale white against the skin and stretching as far as she could see, from one side of his neck to the other. How had he gotten something like that? And how did he survive it? However he had, she couldn't help but hope that it wouldn't work this time, allowing the stranger to finish him off without issue.

The strange man was barreling towards Kado at high speeds now, reaching out with one perfectly manicured hand to grab, to tear, to rip, whatever it took. In the instant before he impacted with the strange dark-haired teenager, Kyoko saw Kado's left hand reach up towards his neck, light from a distant window reflecting off something in the darkness.

Then black erupted from between the two figures, a fountain of darkness far deeper than any moonless night. A black so perfect that Kyoko could see every color from red to blue to yellowgreengraywhitepurplepinkorange-

Then the stranger screamed, a high-pitched sound that seemed to echo off walls and the air itself, folding into itself and bouncing in every direction until it seemed like the wind was screaming with him, the whispering becoming shouting before it suddenly tapered off into a whine that just… stopped.

Kyoko blinked, realizing that she had been staring into the darkness for far too long and refocusing on the larger picture. The black, the perfect black, had shaped itself into a giant claw with fingers the size of a school bus that shrunk down into points sharp enough to pierce through a dragon's scales. The other end of the darkness was a thin slice of black that expanded into the cruel deformity of geometrical shapes and sharp angles.

And the five points of the claw were all sunk into the left side of the stranger's chest.

Kyoko felt her breath abandon her in an instant, evaporating from her lungs as her legs collapsed and deposited her onto the rough road beneath. She didn't even notice the stinging pain from her knees, her entire focus on the impaled corpse of her… what was he to her?

He was a stranger.

A friend.

An… obsession?

A lover?

A protector?

Her everything.

He was…

Something lurched deep within Kyoko's gut and she leaned over, vitriol rushing up her throat and splashing out of her mouth and onto the road. What… what had happened! She… she had almost- And he had almost- She threw up again, eyes wide in shock as her body began to shudder uncontrollably.

A wet thump sounded in the distance, barely even registering to Kyoko's ears. She… He… the wind… At this point her stomach was periodically heaving upwards, but there was nothing left, just the lurching pain and bone-deep horror of what had barely happened.

There was a slight clang from nearby before someone crouched down at the corner of Kyoko's vision, blue jeans invading her personal space. "Come on, breathe. I don't want to be blamed for _two_ deaths."

For some reason, a demented giggle bubbled free from Kyoko's clenched throat, spilling out uncontrollably and splashing down down down onto the ground, flowing out and collecting on the road like red red red seeping into the cracks and holes of Kyoko, filling her up until she was drowning, drowning in the red red red-

A heavy palm hit Kyoko's back, breaking her out of the deep-seated fugue and closing her airway for a moment before expanding as Kyoko took in the first breath of air in what felt like hours, cold air filling her lungs as the fog that had been enshrouding her mind slowly began to clear, dissipating with each sequential breath.

"There you go! See! You're fine!" Kado's voice sounded cheery, but still had the undercurrent of carelessness, a casual tone that belied the recent events. Ignoring the blackblackblack that had-

Kyoko could feel her chest beginning to seize up again and dragged her attention away, focusing on the feel of the rough tarmac beneath her bare knees and her schoolmate chattering in the background as she forced herself to inhale again. "-I'm not a child, I can take care of myself! But she sends someone to check on me each day, and keeps coming by for 'counseling lessons,' like _those_ will help me. Doesn't she have better things to do?"

Finally regaining a proper rhythm of breathing, Kyoko lifted her head up, coming face to face with the brown-eyed boy. "Seriously… Shut up, you're giving me a headache." He was a useless human being who hung out with the perverted solo and hassled the great ladies of Kuoh Academy. Why had he stopped to help her? And what had he even done?

Kado raised one eyebrow, the first visual sign of emotion that Kyoko had seen from him so far. "Oh, well I guess I'll just go on my way then, won't I? You seem to be perfectly fine without me, after all." He straightened to his full height and started to turn away, but Kyoko impulsively reached out and snagged his pant leg, feeling a surge of panic at the thought of being alone.

"No, stay!" Looking up into Kado's blank face, she shrunk back down into herself, but didn't let his leg go. "I mean… please, stay." She couldn't keep eye contact, looking away in shame. Here she was, the firebrand of Kuoh Academy, sunk low enough to beg an enemy for human companionship.

Nothing happened for a moment, then a sigh rang out in the silence and Kado kneeled back down. "Yeah, whatever. I'm not evil enough to abandon a girl like that. Just don't expect much out of me." Kyoko didn't, she just… didn't want to be abandoned in the dark with the stranger's corpse.

They stayed there in silence until Kyoko got herself under control, her breathing evening out as the shaking slowly diminished. She was still shaken, and couldn't stand to look at the other end of the street where the stranger's body lay, but she could breathe and she could think.

Once she was sure that she had mastered herself, she looked up at met Kado's dull brown eyes again. "Th… Thank you. You saved me."

Kado shrugged noncommittally, making his way to his feet once more. "I'm pretty sure there isn't a male teenager who wouldn't try to comfort a girl in distress." Kyoko felt the urge to reach for him again, beg him to stay, but reigned it in, pinning her arms close to her body.

It didn't feel right to just let him go though, not after he'd saved her from whatever that thing was. And she wasn't even thinking about the craziness of the night, just trying to pass it off as some kind of dream. So she raised her voice. "Thank you. For saving me, I mean." Kado didn't speak, still walking away, and Kyoko felt a kind of panic rising within her. "I guess… you're not so bad after all. Maybe I was wrong about you." He might be a pervert and a creep, but… he had saved her life, so he couldn't be a bad person. He deserved that at least.

Kado slowed to a stop, pausing for a moment before turning around. His scarf was still loose, hung around his neck like a noose and leaving the scar on the right side of his neck exposed, once again a white line with no trace of erupting darkness. "Don't."

"D-Don't what?" Kyoko asked, drawing her legs in closer to her and struggling to her feet. "Did I do something wrong?" Something

"Don't change your opinion of me because of this. Whether I'm a pervert, a jerk, a womanizer, or whatever else you and your friends call me behind my back has nothing to do with this." Kado turned back to the front and reached up to his neck, tugging the scarf tighter to hide his injury. "Hate me, curse me, blame me, loathe me, ignore me, swear revenge on me, whatever you like. In the end, it doesn't really matter. But you decide what you think of me, don't base it off my actions."

Kado resumed walking without looking back and within moments had rounded a corner and disappeared from Kyoko's sight.

Kyoko, finally standing on her own two feet, stared after where he used to be before blinking and shaking her head. "Idiot," she mumbled softly, "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Of course I'm not going to change my mind about you just because of something like this."

It was true, she still hated him. So why did she feel such a strong longing to follow him?

* * *

End AN: I had something like this planned for Kyoko since I first created her before the Riser arc, but really just couldn't find a way to fit it into the story without displacing something else or ruining the pacing. But then I had the idea of doing it as a kind of interlude to showcase something that might affect the plot at some point, and also to demonstrate a few of the changes that happened to Kado.

Incidentally, in my mind the creature that Kado killed was a Siren who had fought in the Great War on the Old Devils side, survived but was on the run.

As you can see, Kado is still alive.

As you hopefully also saw, Kioko is not.

The game has changed. And this isn't a game. And this metaphor sucks.

See you next time.


End file.
